Fine and Rare Boki Headdress, Cross River Region, Nigeria

Fine and Rare Boki Headdress, Cross River Region, Nigeria
Wood, hide, metal, hair, pigment, vegetable fiber
Height 9in (23cm)

Provenance
Max Granick Collection, New York
Sotheby's, New York, 15 November 1988, Lot 62
American Private Collection

Masks covered with hide are found in the entire region of the Cross River. They are used by various groups, including the Ejagham (Ekoi), the Boki, Mbembe, Keaka, and the Bangwa of Cameroon. According to Ekpo Eyo, these masks "had various purposes to fulfill among the secret societies along the Cross River." ("Aufsatzmaske," in Werner Schmalenback (ed.), Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Barbier-Mueller, Genf, Munich, p. 163).

Capturing the viewer by its large, hypnotic eyes highlighted with kaolin, this highly expressive headdress has a gaping mouth revealing inset metal teeth, the forehead and sides of the head highlighted with cicatrices, and hair, much now lost, is attached to back; the whole resting on a woven fiber base; wear indicative of significant use.