“The profusion of images that crown its superstructure speak of the communal responsibilities performed by Oro. All walks of life are portrayed. They include a prisoner carrying a load, mother nursing, preacher with his scriptures, man playing an accordion, colonial soldier, elder with his cane, palmwire tapper, and equestrian warrior whose headgear is surmounted by an enormous crested bird with long, curving beak. They stand on a U-shaped platform whose ends are human heads. Below them, the elongated head of the mask is crowned with what appears to be a garland of leaves over plaited hair. Another floral motif projects backward under the equestrian figure. These and a double scroll that crowns the main face of the mask recall Afro-Brazilian baroque imagery introduced by repatriated Yorubas in the second half of the nineteenth-century. Such motifs came to dominate architecture and other arts in Lagos, Ijebu, and especially Ikorodu town.”

Drewal, Henry John. Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1989, pp. 138-139, 144.

"Thirteen intricate and separately carved figures mounted on a U-shaped bar give form to the Ijebu belief in the omnipresence of the Oro association in communal life. The mask is peopled with a nursing mother, accordion player, and farmer, among others. At its summit is a crowned warrior on horseback, wearing headgear surmounted by an imposing bird. The secret Oro association of community leaders metes out justice in society by acknowledging deeds good and bad, enforcing death penalties and other punishments, and presiding over the burial ceremonies of people of all walks of life…. Community members depicted in this mask, from preacher to prisoner, soldier to musician, are equal under the Oro justice system."

Lee, Ellen Wardwell, Anne Robinson, and Alexandra Bonfante-Warren. Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2005, p. 75.

"While attributions are rare for much collected African art, scholars believe this mask to be the work of the master carver Onabanjo of the town of Itu Meko. He used nails to ax the different parts, an unusual practice, since most African carvings are made from a single piece of wood. The ornamental elements of the mask—the floral clusters and garland crowns, and the two scroll-shaped forms above the main face—represent Brazilian influences brought back to the Yoruba by former slaves returning home."

Lee, Ellen Wardwell, Anne Robinson, and Alexandra Bonfante-Warren. Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2005, p. 75.

Thirteen intricate and separately carved figures mounted on a U-shaped bar give form to the Ijebu belief in the omnipresence of the Oro association in communal life. The mask is peopled with a nursing mother, accordion player, and farmer, among others. At its summit is a crowned warrior on horseback, wearing headgear surmounted by an imposing bird. The secret Oro association of community leaders metes out justice in society by acknowledging deeds good and bad, enforcing death penalties and other punishments, and presiding over the burial ceremonies of people of all walks of life.

While attributions are rare for much collected African art, scholars believe this mask to be the work of the master carver Onabanjo of the town of Itu Meko. He used nails to ax the different parts, an unusual practice, since most African carvings are made from a single piece of wood. The ornamental elements of the mask—the floral clusters and garland crowns, and the two scroll-shaped forms above the main face—represent Brazilian influences brought back to the Yoruba by former slaves returning home. After 1850, Brazilian decorative motifs appear often in Ijebu art and architecture, adding more complexity to an already sophisticated sculptural tradition.

Community members depicted in this mask, from preacher to prisoner, soldier to musician, are equal under the Oro justice system.