94 - Important Epa helmet-mask

Important Epa helmet-mask topped with a fertility figure Wood, original brown and reddish patina, traces of pigment, signs of age and wear. Yoruba, Nigeria. H: 115 cm This helmet mask, with its compact proportions, is topped by a mother figure. The lower head, with its large eyes and a mouth revealing teeth, contrasts with the delicacy of the female figure. The mother stands upright, holding a child in front of her belly with both hands. Her long neck and three-lobed hairstyle, dominated by a high central crest, extend the verticality of the composition, and her wide-open eyes give her a watchful expression. Characteristic of the northeastern Yoruba, particularly in Ekiti country, Epa masks combine a helmet worn by the dancer with a superstructure that honors the community’s great figures. The mother figure celebrates fertility and the continuity of lineages. General Bibliography: Will Rea, “The Ẹpa Masquerades of Èkìtì: A Structural Approach,” African Arts, vol. 52, no. 3, Fall 2019, pp. 16–27, particularly p. 18 for the construction of the masks and the main themes of the superstructures.