Object Name: Antelope mask (Karikpo mask)
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Ogoni peoples
Materials Used: Wood and pigment
Date: 1990
Dimensions: H: 63.5 cm, W: 21.0 cm, D: 11.0 cm (H: 25 in, W: 8.2 in, D: 4.3 in)
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Peter Jay Kuhn. X90.441

The Karikpo Society was charged in the past with insuring agricultural fertility. Karikpo masks typically depict animals such as deer, antelope, goats, and monkeys. The masquerades perform acrobatic feats requiring considerable agility. This is especially true in the case of those wearing horned masks, such s this one, where the masquerader must jump especially high when performing the customary somersaults.

Source: Anderson, Martha G. and Peek, Philip M. ed. (2002): “Ways of the Rivers: Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta“‚ Los Angeles, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 280