Ibibio

Idiok Ekpo Mask

The Ibibio people, and especially their Ekpo society, separate their versatile masks into two categories. The beautiful ones, called mfon, and the ugly ones, called idiok. The latter, according to Kerchache (1989), represent spirits wandering on earth. Lost souls who did not make it to paradise.

34 cm
Nigeria, early 20th century,
Acquired by Lore Kegel 1956 in Nigeria

Hans Himmelheber, "Negerkunst und Negerkünstler", 1960
"Gods Spirits Ancestors, African sculpture from private German collections", 1992
"Pierre Dartevelle et les Arts Premiers. Mémoire et Continuité", 2021