A wood mask - Vabo - Mumuye - Nigeria (No reserve price)

Mumuye Vabo Mask - Northeast Nigeria, incl stand. This carved wooden mask derives its power from a dynamic combination of abstract and zoomorphic forms. A domed, black-painted skull transitions into a broad, lightly pigmented facial area. A long, dark element hangs down from the side, while the deeply hollowed-out eye/orbital area and the tubular, red-painted extension give the head a dynamic silhouette. Red, black, and off-white articulate the three-dimensional volumes. Abrasion, discoloration, and the irregular surface give the paintwork a vibrant, multi-layered appearance. The Mumuye people primarily live in present-day Taraba State in northeastern Nigeria and belong to the diverse cultural region of the Upper Benue. In addition to their renowned figurative sculpture, horizontal animal and helmet masks are documented; museum collections contain, in particular, depictions of the bush cow and other, sometimes difficult to definitively identify, animal forms. Such mask types are often associated with the terms va or vabo and are related to initiation, remembrance of the deceased, and cyclical community rituals. At the same time, the mask traditions of the central Benue show strong formal overlaps between the Mumuye, Chamba, Jukun, and neighboring groups. A precise zoological and ritual classification of the present piece should therefore remain open without documented collection context. Literature (selection): Richard Fardon: Fusions: Masquerades and Thought Style East of the Niger-Benue Confluence. 2007. Marla C. Berns / Richard Fardon / Sidney L. Kasfir (eds.): Central Nigeria Unmasked. 2011. Jan Strybol: Art and the Sacred in Mumuyeland. 2018. Some of the information and photos are generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history documents. All information and photos are protected by copyright. Inv. No. MAZ23010 Informant: Petit Coulibaly

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