Antropomorphic helm mask · Nigeria, Idoma / Igala · ID: 3052867
Starting price
EUR 2,000
Estimated price
EUR 4,000
Provenance
Gerhard Vesely, Bad Vöslau, Austria (1997)Austrian Private Collection, Vienna
Size
H: 43,5 cm
H: 17.1 inch
Description
wood, pigments, plant fiber, rest.
In the cultural context of the Idoma and Igala, such masks are performed in public appearances to make ancestral and/or authority presence visible: they accompany primarily commemorative and funerary rites as well as larger community events, protect and symbolically regulate the social sphere, and act as a moral instance mediating between the living and the world beyond.