Idoma - Nigeria

The mask has an oval perimeter that surrounds a face shaped like a heart truncated by a straight line that coincides with the lower lip. The surrounding perimeter has a texture like light brown terracotta, and the face is black. On the surrounding perimeter, at a height below the eyes, there are small, simplified ears, and at the level of the lower lip line, there are scarifications in the form of concentric circles, all in black. On the face, the mouth, wide and full, is closed; the nose has wide nostrils; the eyes have low eyelids formed by curved horizontal lines in relief, decreasing in length towards pronounced eye sockets, above each of which there are scarifications, Abaji, in an arc, following the upper shape of the heart. Along a jagged, straight, vertical line that runs the entire length of the nose, forehead, and surrounding area up to the beginning of the hairstyle, there is a scarification. The hairstyle is formed by a small serrated black surface located above the surrounding area, topped by a kind of central crest called Agbada. On the sides of the hairstyle, there are two small braids in a vertical line sloping outwards and
Pointed in shape. The mask as a whole gives the impression of placidity, introspection, and solemnity. It is a festive mask used both for entertainment and for ritual purposes. This type of mask may have originated in the Ogoja and Cross River regions, where these masks are common both in the form of helmets and crests.

Provenance: Private collection
Argiles collection, Barcelona