Deformation mask "idiok ekpo" ·  Nigeria, Ibibio · ID: 3040374

Description

wood, blackish brown patina, red pigment, marked with a twisted nose “ibuo akwanga” and strongly deformed mouth area, slightly dam., minor missing parts (mouth, rim backside), drilled holes around rim partly broken;
during mask performances of the “ekpo” society, reincarnated ancestors who were immoral, agitated and wayward are represented in masks called “idiok ekpo”, whose moral ugliness is indicated through the dark surfaces and disfigurations from diseases like “gangosa”, facial paralysis or leprosy.