**Originally Listed At $150**

Western Africa, Nigeria, Ibibio peoples, ca. early to mid 20th century CE. A finely-carved wooden entertainment mask with soft facial features, such as slit-form eyes, a petite nose, and a graceful smile, with a prominent black coiffure above a rounded brow line. The Ibibio reside in small village groups and maintain social peace and order through the use of mask and figures that symbolize good and evil spirits. They have traditionally created two types of masks, those that represent evil spirits or individuals who have committed wrong-doings, known as Idiok Ekpo, and those that represent virtuous beings called Mfon Ekpo like this example. The Idiok Ekpo masks have a rather grotesque appearance that personify a doomed or lost soul, and the Mfon Ekpo masks are generally attractive and represent upstanding virtues. Size: 9" H (22.9 cm).

Provenance: ex-Adeon Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA acquired prior to 1970

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#130750

Age-commensurate surface wear, small nicks to nose, coiffure, and face, with small losses around peripheries. Fading to original pigmentation, otherwise very good. Light earthen deposits within recessed areas and verso.