Female dance crest · Nigeria, Idoma · ID: 3042106
not available anymore
Provenance
Catherine Sargos, Nancy, FranceSize
H: 41 cm
H: 16.1 inch
Description
wood, dark brown patina, kaolin, light skin colour, dark scarifications, elaborate coiffure in seven lobes, slightly dam., minor missing parts, abrasion of paint;
depicts the spirit of a beautiful woman. Based on the principle of crest masks used during warrior dances, where seductive female crests respond to male masks consisting of real human skulls, which carried out the sentences of the controlling societies.
Comparing literature
Lebas, Alain (ed.), Arts of Nigeria in French Private Collections, Milan 2012, ill. 130