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.

Comparing literature

Wittmer, Marcilene K. & William Arnett, Three Rivers of Nigeria, Atlanta 1978, p. 65, ill. 149