Ekpo mask

The ownership of this object was transferred to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in November 2022.

Ekpo mask. Benin City. This Ekpo mask is carved from a single piece of wood and painted black. It is likely to have had a movable jaw attached to the main mask by the holes in the jawline, which has since been detached. The word Ekpo in the Ibibio language means "ancestor" or "ghost", and masks like these were danced to honour, make present or open a line of communication with community ancestors.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
99.250
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 260 mm x 220 mm x 128 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
In storage
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Collection Information

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