Figural headdress · Nigeria, Ogoni / Ibibio · ID: 3045154
Price
EUR 5,000
plus 27 % commission, VAT, transport and insurance
Provenance
Fily Keita, Los Angeles, USASize
H: 46 cm
H: 18.1 inch
Description
wood, strong encrusted patina, plant fibre, base
This headdress was probably used for the “ka-elu” masquerade which was performed for fertility purposes prior to the New Yam festival.
At a corresponding event at E-eke in July 1992, more than twenty mask dancers were observed, each representing one particular family of the city. They moved from one family compound to the next t in order to bring blessings from the ancestors and dispel evil spirits.
Comparing literature
Anderson, Martha G., Ways of the Rivers, Los Angeles 2002, p. 281, ill. 9.7 Compare AHDRC 0144396