A carved wood double mask

Description:

Eket, Nigeria
H. 42 cm
Wood with polychrome painting. The round masks of the Eket are associated with the Ekong society and were primarily worn at funerals or during agricultural ceremonies. Despite their resemblance to a radiant sun, ethnologists believe the form is more likely to symbolise the moon. Crusty surface.
Collection of Helmut Zake (1918-1995), Heidelberg, German historian and founder of the Society for Ethnology and Tribal Art, inherited within the family - Partly slightly chipped and traces of age