M0014367: Yoruba head mask surmounted by a female figure and several child figures, Southern Nigeria

Previous title, replaced January 2022: Head mask. Yuruba, Southern Nigeria, W.Africa

Carved wooden head mask, probably used in Egungun, masquerades celebrated by the Yoruba people in Southern Nigeria. The mask is surmounted by a female figure breastfeeding a child, carrying another on her back and accompanied by five more. The figure is possibly a representation of Ododua, the Earth Goddess. The mask was purchased at auction by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1925 and accessioned in 1936 (accession number R13444/1936). It was removed from the museum's holdings in November 1965. The mask was exhibited in the Museum's exhibition "Medicine of the Aboriginal Peoples in the British Commonwealth" held in 1952. Related images: M0012649

December 1955

1 photograph glass plate negative; 10.2 x 12.7 cm

Wellcome Collection holds the accession register which provide an entry for the item: acc. number R13444/1936

Catalogue data comes from a combination of entries in the original glass plate registers, metadata created when the glass plates were digitised in the early 2000s and enhancements made by the cataloguer in 2022.

Please consult the digitised version as this item is fragile. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request access to the physical item.