Double mask (enyi ima)
Eket
19th–20th century
Artist Unidentified
Object Place: Nigeria
Dimensions
52.5 x 28 cm (20 11/16 x 11 in.)
Accession Number
1992.510
Medium or Technique
Wood, pigment, fiber
On View
Richard B. Carter Gallery (Gallery 171)
Collections
Classifications
The round masks of the Eket are worn at funerals and agricultural festivals for the Ekong Society. Studies by anthropologists suggest that their shape may symbolize the moon. Double masks such as this one are rare.
Provenance
By 1979, Hubert Goldet (b. 1945 – d. 2000), Paris. 1992, sold by the Galerie Alain de Monbrison, Paris, to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 28, 1992)
Credit Line
Frank B. Bemis Fund