Anthropomorphic mask "elu" · Nigeria, Ogoni / Ibibio / Eket · ID: 3046854
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 15 November 2008, Lot 270
American Private Collection
Description
wood, encrusted black patina, base
“Elu” masks are brought out on all sorts of different occasions, for example during burial rites and harvest festivals, particularly the yam festival.
Their function is to impose law and order on the celebrants and to punish offenders, but they may also be used for purely entertainment purposes.
The object Anthropomorphic mask “elu” with the object ID 3046854 was last part of the auction Voyage Tribal Art - Live Online Auction at May 23, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 176 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,200.
You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Publications
AHDRC: 0098933