Deformation mask "idiok ekpo" - Nigeria, Ibibio

wood, pigments, encrusted patina, collection number "81122" (Max Willborg)
During mask performances of the "ekpo" society, reincarnated ancestors who were immoral, agitated and wayward are represented in masks called "idiok ekpo", whose moral ugliness is indicated through the dark surfaces and disfigurations from diseases like "gangosa", facial paralysis or leprosy.
H: 32,5 cm, H: 12,8 inch
Provenance:
Max Willborg, Stockholm, Sweden (1981)
Peter Willborg, Stockholm, Sweden (2001)
Exhibited:
Stockholm, Sweden, Liljevalchs Konsthall: "Före / Before Picasso, Afrikansk konst i svensk ägo / African Art in Swedish Collections", 2 December 1988 - 15 January 1989; Humlebaek, Denmark, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: "Före / Before Picasso, Afrikansk konst i svensk ägo / African Art in Swedish Collections", Winter 1989
Published in:
Särnstedt, Bo et. al., Före / Before Picasso, Afrikansk konst i svensk ägo / African Art in Swedish Collections, Stockholm 1988, Cat. No.268
AHDRC: 0139065
Condition Report: See description