Maske with hinged jaw "mfon ekpo" · Nigeria, Ibibio · ID: 3042314
Description
woood, blackish brown patina, red pigment, regular facial features with round cheeks, broad mouth with full lips, min. dam., insect caused damage, cracks, traces of abrasion, base;
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. Included in the “idiok” masking type are also illness masks.
The object Maske with hinged jaw “mfon ekpo” with the object ID 3042314 was last part of the auction 86th Tribal Art Auction at May 27, 2017 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 306.
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Comparing literature
Wittmer, Marcilene K. & William Arnett, Three Rivers of Nigeria, Atlanta 1978, p. 65, ill. 149