African Arts Gallery

The hairstyle of this unconventional Eket statue is organized in braids forming a crenellation. Surrounding a swollen bust, the arms are unhooked. Legs with sharp knees adopt similar volumes. The bulbous abodmen is marked with polychrome rhombic scarifications. Granular and velvety matte patina, locally abraded. The Eket, based in southeastern Nigeria, are a subgroup of the Ibibio ethnic group known for their expressive masks. It is a patrilineal society whose villages are governed by the Ekpo Ndem Isong, a group of elders and heads of extended families. Their decisions are reinforced by members of the Ekpo society who act as messengers of the Ikan (ancestors) and who, in the course of their political functions, are always masked. Their Ogbom ceremony, which takes place in the ...

This anthropomorphic dance crest features a face surmounting a stylized body composed of superimposed arcs anchored on a conical foot. Decorated with field diamonds whose once contrasting colours barely retain polychrome pigments, it remains extraordinarily expressive thanks to a concave face in which the bulging eyelids are modestly lowered. This mask was used during the Ogbom ceremonies. Thick crusty matte patina.
The Ekets are a subgroup of the Ibibio ethnic group known for its expressive masks. These Ogbom cimiers are among the most conceptual pieces of African art and relate to the most modernist expressions of the ancient statuary Eket.Il are open masks with a crusty patina and overhanging a human head. It should be noted that these masks can be feminine or male.

Ex-Belgian African art collection.
Used during the Masquerades related to the Ogbom and honoring the deity of the earth, these masks were stored in the smoke ducts of the houses in order to be protected from insects. Only the men wore african crest masks during the dances that took place in front of the altars. The half-moon eyes, the shape of the upturned nose accompanied by a thin mouth are characteristic of Eket masks. Grainy black brown skate. The Ekets, based in southeastern Nigeria, are a subgroup of the Ibibio ethnic group known for its expressive masks. It is a patrilineal society whose villages are governed by the Ekpo Ndem Isong , a group of elders and heads of extended families. Their decisions are reinforced by members of the Ekpo society who act as messengers of the ...

The Ekets also carve lunar masks for agricultural festivals and funeral ceremonies of the Ekpo Society. A face stands out in low relief in the center of a disc decorated with bands of contrasting colors. The mouth fits in the triangle of the chin. A collar came to the mask, attached to the perforations of the contours.
Smooth Mate Patine
Secret societies are numerous among the Ibibio set up west of the Cross River. Without centralized government, their social organization is comparable to that of neighbouring Igbo. The cult of ancestors is under the authority of the highest-ranking members of the Ekpo. They use masks such as the idiok, linked to fallen spirits, and the mfon, representing saved souls. The statues and puppets are used by the company ekon , every seven years, ...

African art Eket. This Nigeria's statue, with a loincloth of vegetable fibers and pupils of brass, is established on a base whose perforations of the base make it possible to fix the basketry and the tissues which concealed the dancer. The semi-flexed legs evoke the Mbobo tribal dance of the girls during the Ogbom ceremonies, taking place in front of the altar at the end of the periods of seclusion. The crest masks were then kept near the chimneys of the huts to be protected from insects. Dark, smooth patina, kaolin residue. The Eket, established in the south east of Nigeria, are a subgroup of the Ibibio ethnic group known for its expressive masks. It is a patrilineal society whose villages are ruled by Ekpo Ndem Isong, a group of elders and heads of extended families. Their decisions ...