Figure poupée féminine assise ·  Nigéria, Ibibio · ID: 3048045

Description

wood, three-part, nails, paint, inscribed “18 03 …(64?)”, base

Puppet figures of the Ibibio were the property of the male “ekong” (“ekon”) society.

The puppet performance traditionally takes place at night, when between nine and sixteen puppet characters appear on top of a twelve-foot-high screen of cloth that hides both the puppeteers and the musicians.

The puppets are manipulated by sticks and strings. Their voices are created by using a small piece of bamboo covered with a thin membrane of bat’s wing, which when blown sounds like a paper-and-comb. The “manipulation” of the puppets is done exclusively by members of the “ekong” society and requires special training.

The puppets embody a wide variety of human characters - male and female, young and old, rich and poor, sensible and antisocial. Their play is used for educational purposes, but also provided a socially approved way of commenting and criticizing the communtiy and its leaders.

Nowadays it is most often performed at funeral celebrations for an important personage.

L’objet Figure poupée féminine assise avec l’ID d’objet 3048045 a fait partie de l’enchère 96e Vente aux enchères en 24 avril 2021 pour la dernière fois le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes et avait le numéro de lot 215.

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Littérature comparée

Anderson, Martha G., Ways of the Rivers, Los Angeles 2002, p. 290, ill. 9.22

Publications

AHDRC: 0093593