Sitting puppet figure · Nigeria, Eket · ID: 3033981
Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris, 3 July 2007, lot 145
Description
wood, originally dyed with kaolin, accents in black paint, sitting on a cylindrical base, arms and legs worked separate, the arms plugged in, while the movable legs are fixed by nails, a concave facial plane with projecting nose, the leaf-shaped tattoos radiating from the navel typical for the Eket, slightly dam., missing part through insect caused damage (at the back of the base), cracks, paint abraded, rep. (plug of the left arm), traces of old age, on plate;
there are various theories about the usage of such figures: they might have been used for the puppet theatre “akan”, but they might as well have been placed on the shrine of a chief’s memorial “ngwomo”. Finally Eket figures were actually used as headdresses, danced in honour of the earth deities. They were more than likely also tutelary deities concerned with the health and prosperity of the people.
Comparing literature
Cole, Herbert M., Invention and Tradition, München, London, New York 2012, p. 77 f. Neyt, Francois, L'Art Eket, Paris 1979, ill. 10