# Face Mask (Agboho mmuo)

- Date: possibly early 1900s
- Medium: Wood, pigment, plant fiber, and cotton
- Classification: Mask
- Dimensions: Overall: 16.9 x 11 x 6 cm (6 5/8 x 4 5/16 x 2 3/8 in.)
- Culture: Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Igbo-style maker
- Credit line: Gift of Kim Sherwin
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2016.10)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2016.10/2016.10_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This small face mask would have been complemented by a separate, elaborate superstructure covered with cotton cloth. Though always worn by a man, the image glorifies youthful female beauty. Derived from chalky clay, the white coloration of the face refers to ancestral spirits whose powers the mask evokes. The masks dance in festivals that generally celebrate the dead but also appear at funerals to escort the deceased to the land of the ancestors.