Rare zoomorphic mask "gugwom" (crocodile?) · Nigeria, Northern Benue, Montol / Goemai · ID: 3046582
Description
wood, red and white pigment, missing part, insect caused damage, base
The mask was worn horizontally on the head. Arnold Rubin (1988) reported that the mask type appeared on harvest festivities and chiefly burials.
One of the rare comparable masks illustrated in Wittmer (1978), p. 94, ill. 219 (AHDRC 0097841).
The object Rare zoomorphic mask “gugwom” (crocodile?) with the object ID 3046582 was last part of the auction 94th Tribal Art Auction at March 7, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 273.
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Comparing literature
Wittmer, Marcilene K. & William Arnett, Three Rivers of Nigeria, Atlanta 1978, p. 94, ill. 219