Face mask ·  Nigéria, Ibibio · ID: 3033960

Description

wood, polychrome paint, a beautiful modelled face with regular facial features, crowned by a fully plastic head rising from a columnar neck, rep., minor missing parts, traces of insect caused damage and abrasion;
probably a depiction of “mami wata”; “Mami wata” is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman’s upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent. In other tales she is fully human in appearance (though never human). The existence and spiritual importance of “mami wata” is deeply rooted in the ancient tradition and mythology of the coastal southeastern Nigerians (Efik, Ibibio and Annang people).