Eket mask, Nigeria, c. 1980

The Eket, numbering one million, are an Ibibio subgroup of farmers who do not fish unlike their Cross River neighbours. The Ekpo society uses several types of masks, including polychrome masks, unique in Africa, consisting of two panels, one supported by the other at the top. There are also round masks used for the Yam planting festival. They are characterised by a circular shape, in two superimposed discs or a single one surmounted by an anthropomorphic head. The Idiong society is an organisation of diviners, who are often also members of the Ekpo society. Height: 31.5 cm Reproduced: Catalogue “Africa Babel: the Art of a Continent”, p.- 231
 
Exhibitions:
2022-2024 Island of Fuerteventura “Art Africa: Ancestral Light”. Lighthouse of the Entallada. Cabildo of Fuerteventura.
2021-2022 Panama City. Government of Panama. “Art Africa: the spirit of the ancestors”. Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Casco Viejo.
2019-2020 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent”. Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo.
2013-2015 Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (Madao). La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia.
2005 “Black Africa”, Leather Museum.
2004 “Black Africa”. Caixa Laietana Foundation, Barcelona. Main exhibition hall