Water spirit mask of the "ekine" society ·  Nigeria, Ijaw · ID: 3048574

Description

wood, pigments,
Every year a festivity in honour of the water spirits “owuamapu” takes place, lasting for several days, held in order to win their favour and to secure the well-being of the community.

The outward appearance of the masks extremely varies, for they reflect the visionary or dreamed look a water spirit has in the eyes of its respective carver.

The object Water spirit mask of the “ekine” society with the object ID 3048574 was part of the auction 97th Auction on November 6, 2021. The object with the lot number 237 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,900 with an asking price of EUR 1,500.

You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.

Comparing literature

Anderson, Martha G., Ways of the Rivers, Los Angeles 2002, p. 148 f.