Register Auction 105
Zemanek-Münster
Rare anthropomorphic helmet mask "okpatonu", Nigeria, Benue, Alago (Idoma Nokwu), Size: H: 34,5 cm (H: 13.6 inch), ID: 3052292
Rare anthropomorphic helmet mask "okpatonu", Nigeria, Benue, Alago (Idoma Nokwu), Size: H: 34,5 cm (H: 13.6 inch), ID: 3052292 - 2/6 Rare anthropomorphic helmet mask "okpatonu", Nigeria, Benue, Alago (Idoma Nokwu), Size: H: 34,5 cm (H: 13.6 inch), ID: 3052292 - 3/6 Rare anthropomorphic helmet mask "okpatonu", Nigeria, Benue, Alago (Idoma Nokwu), Size: H: 34,5 cm (H: 13.6 inch), ID: 3052292 - 4/6 Rare anthropomorphic helmet mask "okpatonu", Nigeria, Benue, Alago (Idoma Nokwu), Size: H: 34,5 cm (H: 13.6 inch), ID: 3052292 - 5/6 Rare anthropomorphic helmet mask "okpatonu", Nigeria, Benue, Alago (Idoma Nokwu), Size: H: 34,5 cm (H: 13.6 inch), ID: 3052292 - 6/6
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Lot 300
Auction 105

Rare anthropomorphic helmet mask "okpatonu" ·  Nigeria, Benue, Alago (Idoma Nokwu) · ID: 3052292

Starting price EUR 800
Estimated price EUR 1,500
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Provenance
Rolf Kunitsch, Münster, Germany
Size
H: 34,5 cm
H: 13.6 inch

Description

wood, pigments,

A mask that is very similar in form and style was photographed by Rubin in Keana in 1971 (cf. Berns, 2011, p. 72, ill. 2.37 ).

According to S. L. Kasfir, this mask, called “okpatonu”, is “a crude version of a type associated with both Jukun and Igala”. According to Kasfir, these appear to be variants of the same type of mask, which occurs at both ends of a 200-mile stretch from the middle Benue to the confluence.

Comparing literature

Berns, Marla C. et. al., Arts of the Benue River Valley, Los Angeles 2011, p. 72

Africa
Masks

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