IDNO

P.71359.GIJ

Description

Two masks; a Benin mini and a wooden Ibiibio panel mask.
The Benin mini mask at the top consists of a head with a hairstyle of concentric rings, incised rows of hair, prominent forehead with scarification marks, almond shaped eyes, nose, and lips. Around the chin are seven looped markings. The bottom mask is a rectangular panel with five linear rows with markings; in the centre of the panel is a raised face which is round and consists of a high forehead, slit eyes, nose, linear mouth and etched markings in the centre of the forehead and on each cheek. [AF 14/1/2008]

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; Southeast Nigeria; ?Benin City

Cultural Affliation

Ibibio; Edo [historically Bini]

Named Person

Photographer

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Collector / Expedition

Date

circa 1930 - 1939

Collection Name

Jones collection

Source

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.71320.GIJ to P.71399.GIJ were kept in box 3, now numbered C303/.

Context: Jones devotes a chapter to the Anang (Ibibio) style and shows the diversity in the masks and sculptures. Jones writes that, “The Ibibio style was only one of a number of styles found in the Anang area. I called it Anang (Ibibio), distinguishing where necessary between Traditional Anang (Ibibio), the style of the Ekpo society masks, and modern Anang (Ibibio), the style of some of their Ekong masks and other more recent masquerades as well as some of most of the heads, masks and figures which they made for sale outside the area.

There is a wide range of masks and “it was in this style and in this area that Eastern Nigeria face masks attained their greatest development. They were heart-shaped, oval or rectangular in form and they could be carved on circular or on rectangular panels , they could have additional smaller faces carved on the forehead, on a superstructure above it, or on panels hinged to its sides. While normally human in form, they could on occasion be in animal form, or in a combination of human, animal or bird features in order to horify and strike terror into the beholder. But another type of Anang mask achieved this even more successfully by depicting faces ravaged by disfiguring tropical diseases (for instance, rodent ulcers, gangosa, nodular leprosy). These pathological masks were peculiar to the Ibibio, though some were copied by Northern Ibo. Another feature confined to masks in this Anang (Ibibio) style was the representation of the Idiong ring, a circlet of leather fitting tightly around the forehead - the insignia of a member of the prestigious Ididong society of doctors and diviners. Another exclusive feature which the ibibio shared with those of the Ogoni was the possession in many cases of a moveable lower jaw. Keloids and other scarifications were not of much use in distinguishing between Ibibio masks. Many carried a rectangular groups of them on each temple, often balanced by one in the centre of the forehead, some carried a single vertical scar on the forehead, while some were without any facial markings.” (Jones, 1984, pp. 74-179)

Context: The Art of Benin is well documented by Paula Ben-Amos. She shows that the hairtyle of the Benin trophy head is similar to a photograph taken by Northcote Thomas at the beginning of the 19th century of an Igbo man (Ben-Amos, 1980, p.18, Figure 15).

Bibliographical Reference: Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press)

Ben-Amos, P. 1980. The Art of Benin. Thames and Hudson.

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 14/1/2008]