Dance crest "epa" · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3043813
Arnold Bamert, Solothurn, Switzerland
Sotheby’s, London, 29 June 1987, lot 169
Harald & Ursula Suhr, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada / Germany
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 8. September 2012, lot 152
Description
wood, encrusted patina, pigments,
“Epa” masks are among the heaviest and tallest of all Yoruba carved headdresses. Typically they consist of two parts: helmet-shaped base and superstructure for displaying sculptural metaphors.
According to Thompson, the main purpose of the “epa” festival was to give young men an opportunity to display their athletic prowess, but Marsha Vander Heyden questions this. She states that the festival was held in honour of the hunters and warriors who brought culture to the area.
The object Dance crest “epa” with the object ID 3043813 was last part of the auction 89th Tribal Art Auction at July 7, 2018 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 310.
Here you will find more objects and interesting facts about African art.
Comparing literature
Lawal, Babatunde, Yoruba, Mailand 2012, ill. 55 Witte, Hans, A Closer Look, Berg en Dal 2004, p. 196
Publications
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Afrika, Maske und Skulptur, Olten 1989, ill. 77; Arts d'Afrique Noire, no. 46, Galerie Künzi, Switzerland
AHDRC: 0110080