Rare anthropomorphic face mask · Nigeria, Igbo, Ezzamgbo · ID: 3052060
Starting price
EUR 2,000
Estimated price
EUR 3,000
Provenance
Robert Duperrier, Paris, FranceWerner & Lotte Krause, Hamburg, Germany (1985)
Size
H: 37 cm
H: 14.6 inch
Description
leather, vegetal fibers, fabric, wool, collection no. “318”, plinth
This unusual mask is made entirely of animal skin, which is also used to form the eyes, mouth and nose and cut out the teeth. Woven cords of plant fibres cover the entire facial plane in a “wild arrangement” and also form the high rising coiffure. Cord strings made of fabric strips and a knitted collar complement the mask.
A mask of the Ezzamgbo type is published in Cole & Aniakor, Igbo Arts, 1984, p. 146, fig. 256 (AHDRC 0094598). For another Ezzamgbo mask, ex “Collection de Monsieur P.”, 1979, see AHDRC 0094599. Apart from these two masks, no other comparable examples could be found.