Ijo mask, Kalabari tribe, Nigeria, c.1970-80

Ijo mask, Kalabari tribe, Nigeria, c.1970-80 Measurements: 58 cm high The Western Ijo use the figures, in which the head of the family is represented on a very schematic quadruped that is said to represent the guardian spirit of the family. In some Kalabari communities, rectangular plates are transformed by carpentry into a low-relief frontal group in which a commemorated ancestor is flanked by supporting figures. Exhibitions: 2022 - 2024 - Fuerteventura Island "African Art: Ancestral Light" La Entallada Lighthouse. Fuerteventura Town Hall. 2021 - 2022 - Panama City. Government of Panama. "African Art: the spirit of the ancestors" Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Old Town. 2019 - 2020 - Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. "Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent" Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo. 2019 - 2020 - Santa Cruz de La Palma. Caja Canarias Foundation. "Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent." Massieu House. Santa Cruz de la Palma. 2013 - 2015 - Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (MADAO) La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia 2005 --------- "Black Africa" Leather Museum. Vic - Barcelona. 2004 .......... "Black Africa" Caixa Laietana Foundation. Barcelona Main exhibition hall.