An Ogoni Elu Mask...

Description

An Ogoni Elu Mask
Niger Delta, Nigeria, c. early 20th century

Carved with remarkable finesse on a reduced scale, this Elu mask represents a human face enlivened by a hinged lower jaw, a feature that would have imparted dramatic movement when danced. The coiffure is rendered as a three-lobed form with raised knobs at the crown, while the temples are marked with concentric circular cicatrices, signifiers of beauty and social identity in the Niger Delta region. The surface is uniformly stained a deep black, with high points slightly nicked and the back perimeter rubbed, attesting to ritual use. With a stand.

Masks of the Elu type belong to Ogoni masquerades performed for entertainment as well as moral instruction. Their anthropomorphic features and animated jaws serve to parody or exaggerate human behavior, providing both amusement and reflection for the community. Though relatively small in scale, this mask demonstrates a refinement of proportion and careful attention to ethnographic detail that places it among the finer examples of its type.

Provenance:
Robert Bisselink, Conservateur du Scholl Museum Der Hague, acquired in Paris in 1939
Amadel Fine African Art, The Hague, Netherlands
A Private Collection, Chicago, IL

Published online at the African Heritage Documentation and Research Centre, AHDRC #0098782

Height: 7 inches

Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500.

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