Rare calabash face mask "mbubu" ·  Nigeria, Igbo-Afikpo · ID: 3046296

Description

pumpkin, plant fibre, clay-like mass, colour pigments (yellow and red ochre, kaolin), base

Only a few specimens of these gourd masks are found in museums or private collections. For a similar object that is located in the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, see African Heritage Documentation & Research Centre, no. 0095473.

The object Rare calabash face mask “mbubu” with the object ID 3046296 was last part of the auction Online Auction at September 27, 2023 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 223 achieved a sales price of EUR 250.

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Comparing literature

Dagan, Esther A., The African Calabash, New York 1988