Anthropomorphic dance crest · Nigeria, Boki · ID: 3044254
Sotheby’s, Paris, 6 December 2005, lot 78
Description
wood, hide, hair, rattan, collection label “Morigi Lugano No. 109”, base
The Boki live in areas bodering the Cross River in both southeast Nigeria and Cameroon. Until very recently hunting associations were common throughout the region. A man could only achieve membership in such an organization once he had slain a wild animal. Such establishments often used such head crests in performances at specific times of the hunting year, and at the funerals of members.
The object Anthropomorphic dance crest with the object ID 3044254 was part of the auction 89th Tribal Art Auction on July 7, 2018. The object with the lot number 253 achieved a sales price of EUR 6,500 with an asking price of EUR 4,500.
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Comparing literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Ekoi, München 1982, p. 16, ill. 2 Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 234
Publications
Bastin, Marie-Louise, Introduction aux arts d' Afrique noire, Arnouville 1984, p. 230, ill. 234, Arts d'Afrique Noire 73 (1990)
AHDRC: 0090865