Mask with articulated lower jaw "elu" · Nigeria, Ogoni · ID: 3040473
German Private Collection
Description
wood, reddish brown patina, black paint, white pigment, narrow face with regular facial features and accentuated ear conches, flanked by plug-like plaits, slightly dam. (nose tip), missing parts backside at the rim, rep. (right plait), abrasion of paint;
“elu” masks are worn by young men of the “ogoni” secret society. They were attached to a cone-shaped fibre and cloth cap. The corresponding costumes varied. The small caricatures represent different characters. In a funny or tragic way they illustrate oral traditions in stories and songs.
The object Mask with articulated lower jaw “elu” with the object ID 3040473 was last part of the auction 83rd Tribal Art Auction at May 28, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 288 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,200.
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