Yoruba Gelede Mask

Mask of the Gèlèdé ritual society, illustrating the cult of the "Mothers", or witches, originating from Hollidjè (Nigeria), with red and blue pigmentation (color used in the Vodoun religion) based on natural pigments. The Gèlèdé ceremony is composed of two phases, the night dedicated to the representation of the divinities and the day dedicated to community celebrations, with diversified representations. This mask must have been a day mask, it presents scarifications (three points) and signs (intersecting arrows) characteristic of the Holli country. On the top of the headdress, we observe a sort of cylindrical and pierced pivot, which must have served as a promontory for an "aerial" element, perhaps a snake or a bird, community symbols. The object is authentic and has no restoration. It comes from the former collections of Heinz-Werner Fusbahn (1905-1958, Stuttgart/Basel) and Margaret Fusbahn-Billwiller (1907-2001, St. Gallen/Sintra). Its antiquity dates back to the beginning of the 20th century.