Head sculpture
Nigeria, Benue Valley, Mumuye
sold
EUR 1,500
Provenance
Carl Otto Hultén, Malmö, Sweden (member of the Cobra-Group)Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 12 May 2007, Lot 278
German Private Collection
Size
H: 46,5 cm
H: 18.3 inch
Description
wood, seed capsules, kaolin, base
This impressive head may once have crowned one of the imposing headdresses used in the Middle Benue area by the Mumuye, Wurkun, Bikwin, Yendang and Jukun.
These masks reached sizes of up to 1.20 metres. As Marla Berns has demonstrated, they were worn vertically on the head. The wearer looked through a small opening at the front of the plank-like base, while his body was completely hidden by a lush grass fibre covering to preserve the ghostly appearance (Berns, 2011, p. 442, Fig. 14.10).
Comparing literature
Berns, Marla: "Enigmatic Embodiments. Vertical Masks in Cross-Cultural Perspective", in: Arts of the Benue River Valley, Los Angeles 2011, p. 437 ff.Publications
AHDRC: 0098528