Deformation mask ·  Nigeria, Ibibio · ID: 3033307

Description

wood, blackish brown patina, red and white paint, slanting eyes with vaulted lids, a deformed nose-mouth-area, missing parts, traces of insect caused damage and abrasion;
illness or deformation mask, belonging to the “idiok” masks, which were used to be danced at masquerades of the “ekpo” society, depicting people suffering of untreated leprosy, gangosa, syphilitic lesions, or mucosal leishmaniasis.

Comparing literature

Herreman, Frank, To cure and protect, New York 1999, p. 23, ill. 13