Mask with hinged jaw "elu" · Nigeria, Ogoni · ID: 3035569
Helga Redlich, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Description
wood, encrusted black patina, special feature: beak-formed mouth, forehead and temple scarifications, crown-shaped headgear, pierced around the rim, traces of abrasion, socle;
“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 hinged jaw “elu” with the object ID 3035569 was last part of the auction 74th tribal art auction at September 7, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 240.
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