Yoruba-Nago Helmet Mask, attributed to Arobatan, Pobè, Republic of Benin

Gérald Berjonneau and Jean-Louis Sonnery, eds, Chefs d’œuvre inédits de l’Afrique noire, Boulogne, 1987, p. 149, cat. no. 107

Gérald Berjonneau and Jean-Louis Sonnery, eds, Rediscovered Masterpieces of African Art, Boulogne, 1987, p. 149, cat. no. 107

Gérald Berjonneau and Jean-Louis Sonnery, eds, Onbekende meestetwerken uit zwart Afrika, Tielt, 1987, p. 149, cat. no. 107

Henry John Drewal, John Pemberton III, Rowland Abiodun, Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought, New York, 1989, p. 220, fig. 258

Ezio Bassani, ed., La grande scultura dell’Africa Nera, Florence, 1989, p. 135, pl. 60

Lorenz Homberger, ed., Rowland Abiodun, Henry John Drewal, and John Pemberton III, Yoruba. Kunst und Ästhetik in Nigeria, Zurich, 1991, p. 31, cat. no. 37

Lorenz Homberger, ed., Rowland Abiodun, Henry John Drewal, and John Pemberton III, Yoruba: Art and Aesthetics, New York and Zurich, 1991, p. 31, cat. no 37

Ezio Bassani, ed., Le grand héritage. Sculptures de l’Afrique noire, Paris, 1992, p. 164, cat. no. 164

Christiane Falgayrettes-Leveau, Masques, Paris, 1995

Christiane Falgayrettes-Leveau and Iris Hahner, Parures de tête / Hairstyles and Headdresses, Paris, 2004, p. 200

Ekpo Eyo, Masterpieces of Nigerian Art, Abuja, 2008, p. 166, cat. no. 121

Jonathan Fogel, Polly Nooter Roberts, and Nancy Thomas, “The Inner Eye: Vision and Transcendence in African Arts”, Tribal Art, No. 84, Summer, 2017, p. 87, fig. 6

Carved with remarkable detail and skill, this gelede mask is possibly attributed to the sculptor Arobatan, from Pobè in the Republic of Benin, in southwestern Yoruba territory. The openwork, crosshatched composition of the face is immediately striking and highlights the mastery of the artist. This gelede mask is “a dramatic visualization of the ambiguities of masking, as it simultaneously reveals and conceals the identity of the wearer in the wonderful openwork carving of the face […] We see, and ‘see through’ [the artist’s] illusion of transformation – the male masquerade is at the same time not male and not not male, not female and not not female” (Christiane Falgayrettes-Leveau and Iris Hahner, Parures de tête / Hairstyles and Headdresses, Paris, 2004, p. 201). The elegant and elaborate coiffure on the top of the head as well as the plug on the lower lip suggest that this mask represents an important and respected female member of society, possibly a royal wife or a priestess. Remnants of red and blue pigments on the surface of the mask attest to its significant age and use.

Following the methodologies established in ancient Greek and Medieval art history, the identification of work by an artist or workshop is based on stylistic and contextual evidence. Often, names of convenience are used when the artist's actual name remains unknown. In the study of the history of African Art, the notion of the individual artist was not introduced until 1935 when Hans Himmelheber identified nineteen artists from Côte d'Ivoire in his groundbreaking Negerkünstler. Two years later, the Belgian art historian Frans Olbrechts identified a body of work created by “The Master of the Long Face of Buli”, referring to the now-famous Luba carver active in the 19th century. Subsequently, the identification of authorship and workshops has become an increasingly important focus of African art history. Yoruba kingdoms have a long history, dating to the nineteenth century and earlier, of master carvers, each with their own distinctive and highly refined style. An artist would typically teach his skills to his son, who in turn would often synthesize the learned styles and motifs to produce new, hybrid visions.