Unusual Igbo Okoroshi Mask

Rare and authentic Okoroshi mask from Nigeria’s Igbo people. Exquisite carving and beautifully toned wood. The slightly drooped eyes underlined by half-circle incisions combined with the open mouth baring individually carved teeth give this Okoroshi a dramatic, heavy appearance. Herbert Cole and Chike Aniakor describe the Okoroshi tradition in Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos, writing that during the peak of the rainy season, masqueraders congregate in several Igbo village groups to perform and dance. These maskers are called Okoroshi, meaning “water spirit”; some Okoroshi represent “beautiful spirits” — Oma — while others function as more menacing or deliberately unattractive presences — Ojo. This mask is male, or Ojo, as it bears a rather aggressive expression and is not white-faced like the female Okoroshi Oma.

12.5″

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