Tribal Art

Attached with a wicker clamp, the lower jaw of this mask embodying an ancestor or a high-ranking character, can be articulated, revealing wooden sticks representing a dentition.
Two-tone satin patina. Abrasions.
African mask inspired by Ogoni culture

The Ogoni live along the coast of Nigeria, near the mouth of the Cross-River, south of the Igbo and west of the Ibibio. Their carvings vary from village to village, but are primarily renowned for their jointed jaw masks such as some Ekpo Ibibio masks. Their masks were usually worn at funerals, festivities accompanying planting and harvesting, but also more recently to welcome distinguished guests. Acrobatic demonstrations linked to the karikpo celebration, and accompanied by the kere karikpo drum, were additionally an opportunity to display various zoomorphic masks.