Mask with hinged jaw "idiok ekpo" ·  Nigeria, Ibibio · ID: 3034860

Description

wood, encrusted greyish brown patina, plant fibre, eyes with hanging lids and prominent tear sacks, plug-shaped scarifications at the temples, slightly dam., minor missing parts, socle;
among the masquerades of the “ekpo” society exists a number of quite different types of masks, which may be separated in two groups: the “ugly ghost” masks, “idiok”, which represent restless spirits, and the “mfon” masks which represent those spirits who have already reached paradise.

Comparing literature

Wittmer, Marcilene K., Arnett, William, Three Rivers of Nigeria, Atlanta 1978, ill. 172