Mask, Ibibio; Nigeria
Wood; H. 10 3/4"
Masquerades of the Ibibio often depict
a strong concept of duality. This is best illustrated
in the masks of the Ekon Society, which utilizes
dark, grotesque, and menacing male masks with rough
surfaces and female masks with deep, shining surfaces
depicting beautiful young women. The display and
interplay between the beautiful and the ugly, the
male and the female, the aggressive and the passive
re-emphasize the basic dualities in life and the
social regulations that unify these polar opposites.
The Anang, one of the western-most Ibibio groups,
carve in a far more naturalistic style than the
rest of the Ibibio people. The serene, almost contemplative
expression on this extremely old female mask may
point to an Anang origin.
