Ibibio Mask from Nigeria

About the Item

IBIBIO MASK Nigeria Wood Early 20th Century Provenance: - ex Helmut Zake (1918-1995) collection, Heidelberg, Germany - Native auction, Brussels, Belgium A rare well-used Ibibio mask from Nigeria wearing a hat. Traces of original pigment and paint, extensive wear. Old authentic item. Ibibio masks demonstrate the dichotomy of life as portrayed in the masks worn for the important Ekpo society. In this mask we see the elegant face and ideas associated with beauty in the slightly parted lips about to speak and the downcast eyes - intelligence, order, control. About the provenance of Helmut Zake: Helmut Zake, former Director of Foreign Student Services and International Relations at the University of Heidelberg, acquired his first African works in the 1960s. Both charismatic and friends of famous merchants – such as Walter Kaiser – he founded the Heidelberg Gesprächskreis von Sammlern und Ethnologen, a discussion society more commonly known as the Zake Circle, which brought together ethnography lovers and African art collectors from all over Germany but also from Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands. “Through this circle”, says Nicolas Paszukiewicz, co-leader of Native, “Helmut Zake focused on defining the aesthetic canons that appealed to his peers. He was someone who was firmly committed to the authenticity and artistic quality of the works.” wo requirements on which the German historian has never compromised. It enabled him to acquire numerous objects and sculptures of great rarity over the course of his life. Above all, masks and statuettes essentially dating from the end of the 19th century. Helmut Zacke also had a thing for sacred objects from Nigeria, as evidenced by the presence of a this rare Ibibio mask.

Dimensions:

Height: 7.88 in (20 cm)Width: 4.73 in (12 cm)Depth: 4.73 in (12 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Wood,Hand-Carved

Place of Origin:

Nigeria

Period:

Early 20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

Early 20th Century

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. Locally used within the context of local masquerade practices.