Anthropomorphic Face Mask "mfon Ekpo" - Nigeria, Ibibio-anang - Apr 13, 2024 | Kunstauktionshaus Zemanek-muenster In Bavaria
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Anthropomorphic face mask "mfon ekpo" - Nigeria, Ibibio-Anang

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Anthropomorphic face mask "mfon ekpo" - Nigeria, Ibibio-Anang
Anthropomorphic face mask "mfon ekpo" - Nigeria, Ibibio-Anang
Item Details
Description
wood, base

Appearances by the "ekpo" masks are regarded as visits by the ancestral spirits ("ekpo") represented by the masks.

This mask shows a realistic depiction of a beautiful female face. It is the embodiment of a "beautiful spirit" - "mfon", which is primarily used for entertainment.

"Ekpo" masks show a contrastive aesthetic of beauty and ugliness. Artists use asymmetry and disproportion in their mask-making to recreate and comment upon the incongruities and contradictions of human existance, while symmetry and elegance convey ideas about morality and essential goodness.
H: 26 cm, H: 10,2 inch

Provenance:
Rolf Kunitsch, Münster, Germany
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 12 May 2001, Lot 344
Werner Zintl, Worms, Germany

Lit.: Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, ill. 49
Condition
See description
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Anthropomorphic face mask "mfon ekpo" - Nigeria, Ibibio-Anang

Estimate €1,500 - €3,000
See Sold Price
Starting Price €1,500
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Kunstauktionshaus Zemanek-Muenster

Kunstauktionshaus Zemanek-Muenster

Wurzburg, Germany529 Followers
Auction Curated By
Dr. David Zemanek
Expert for African and Oceanic Art
Howard Nowes
Expert for Pre-Columbian and Classical Antiquities
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