Information
H 20.5 cm
Mask with a moveable jaw.
Place of collection: district of Bonny, eastern end of the river delta.
Mask worn on the head of a dancer who also had a cloth hood to hold it.The face is divided into two parts, with the moveable jaw tied together with a cord. It has well-sculpted hemmed lips, a straight nose, narrow eyes, stylised ears, and a complex hairstyle marked in the middle with two cylindrical buns. There is scarification present on its forehead and temples, both signs that indicate which clan it belonged to.
Provenance
- Former private collection (Lugano);
Exhibition
Literature
- VENTURI LUCA M. “Anime antiche, arte negra, da una raccolta di sculture dell’Africa occidentale” BSI Bank, Lugano 2002, fig. 74b;
- HAHNER-HERZOG IRIS & KECSKESI MARIA & VAJDA LASZLO “L’Autre Visage: Masques africains de la collection Barbier-Mueller” Geneva 1997, pag. 136;