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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Ethnographical / Igbo Colonial Headdress Mask, Hornbills and Colonist Figure, Nigeria
West Africa, Nigeria, Igbo people, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A massive sculptural wooden mask and headdress that depicts traditional Igbo culture with the overshadowing figure of a colonist in the center. Forming the base is a large cylindrical helmet cap with strap piercings for the wearer. At the center is a tall, white European man with a pith type of hat, flanked by large hornbill birds, their beaks dramatically arching downward. Perched around the man are figures including a mother nursing her child, a woman carrying a bundle with cotton straps, a man holding a clock, a woman with a rooster attached to her waist, and some abstract demon or spirit figures. White visages that probably represent Amadioha or other masks are set into the helmet below the figures. Although enormous, the wood is somewhat lightweight and could be balanced on a performer's head for a short duration during the masquerade or kept on display in a shrine to direct prayers. Size: 18" Diameter x 34" H (45.7 cm x 86.4 cm) These masks traditionally are used to represent important roles in the community and serve as entertaining artistic expression and cultural commentary. The main figure wearing a pith helmet hat is a telling sign of colonialism in Nigeria. For a similar example please see the British Museum’s website, museum number: Af1954,23.522. Item # 170527
Estimate:£452.37
To the auctionView all items fromArtemis Fine ArtsorEthnographical
Estimate:
£452.37
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