Dance crest "epa" · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3043813
not available anymore
Provenance
Galerie Künzi, Oensingen, SwitzerlandArnold 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
Size
H: 84 cm
H: 33.1 inch
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.
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, SwitzerlandAHDRC: 0110080