Helmet mask "epa": Equestrian figure and standing female figure ·  Nigeria, Yoruba, Ekiti · ID: 3048713

Description

wood, red pigment, encrusted patina, traces of insect caused damage and weathering, rest.

The base of the mask consists of a double-faced helmet crowned by an equestrian figure representing a warrior, hunter and/or king (“jagun-jagun”). Since the forearms of the figure and thus its utensils (such as shield, spear, head trophy etc.) are missing, this can no longer be verified. The combination with a female figure suggests that a historically important ancestral couple could be depicted.

The figure style of this mask is unusual. The body and limbs are strikingly slender and elongated, the facial features show prominent short noses and semicircular mouths carved with pointed teeth. A comparable mask, probably from the same workshop, can be found in the holdings of the British Museum (Inventory no. 1924.12-20.2), published by Phillips, 1996, p. 420 (see also AHDRC 0109909). The latter can be proved to have reached England as early as 1924, where it was exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. Phillips assigns the mask stylistically to the village of Oye-Ekiti in the northern Ekiti region.

The object Helmet mask “epa”: Equestrian figure and standing female figure with the object ID 3048713 was last part of the auction 98th Auction at March 26, 2022 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 67 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,500.

You can find more Masks, Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.

Comparing literature

Phillips, Tom, Africa, The Art of a Continent, New York 1996, p. 420, 5.80

Publications

Visser, Recent Acquisitions, Brussels, n. d, p. 8

AHDRC: 0109917