Elongated human face, bulbous forehead, coffee bean-shaped concave eyes, long linear nose terminating with inverted cross form nostrils, series of exposed teeth in straight band, chin ending in long point. The features have traces of blue and white powders.

An Ijaw mask The Ijaws were one of the first of Nigeria's peoples to have contact with Westerners and were active as go-betweens in the trade between visiting Europeans and the peoples of the interior, particularly in the era before the discovery of quinine , when West Africa was still known as the "White Man's Graveyard" [ 59 ] because of the ...

Oct 3, 2015 · Ijaw religious beliefs hold that water spirits are like humans in having personal strengths and shortcomings, and that humans dwell among the water spirits before being born. Central to the festivities is the role of masquerades, in which men wearing elaborate outfits and carved masks dance to the beat of drums and manifest the influence of the ...

Wood; worn horizontally, sometimes in the water, this mask or headdress depicts a creative composite of creatures; shows signs of age and use, probably from the first half of the 20th century. $1800.

This is a water spirit mask from the Ijo or Ijaw people of Nigeria. It is a zoomorphic-anthropomorphic composite, as the facial structure reflects that of a human’s, with all other features representing those of animals.

The Ijo consider water spirits in particular benevolent to humans, and the Ijo have festivals celebrating and invoking the beneficence of many individual spirits, including the hippopotamus, crocodile, swordfish, and python. This mask is worn atop the head and represents a stingray. CATALOG ID (s): AFNG003.

Ijo masks are creatures born of the imagination that are usually related to aquatic life. Indeed, the Ijo-Kalabari living mainly from fishing and their small villages located in swampy areas, their cosmogony naturally centered around this environment.

Ijaw art is renowned for its abstraction. Its typical masks, with their cubist appearance, are the best illustration of that. The exceedingly minimalist appearance of this mask distinguishes it from other, more elaborate examples, making it one-of-a-kind.

Oct 28, 2013 · It has high value because water spirit headdresses from the Ijebu (also spelled Ijaw, Ijo) are hard to find. “Water deities are perceived to be the forces ultimately responsible for individual acquisition of wealth and power.

Aug 21, 2014 · Yoruba-Ijebu mask (24 inches long) for the Ekine cult, depicting the water spirit Igodo from the Wests African country of Nigeria was sold at Sotheby’s. I believe these people are also referred to as Ijaw.