A Widekum Headdress, "tukum" Figurative head piece, "tukum" Ekoi cultural group, Cameroon Ohne Sockel / without base Wood, leather, rattan, hair. H 31.5 cm. Provenance: - 1989: Davis Gallery, Charles Davis, New Orleans. - Sandro Bocola (1931-2022), Zurich. Described by Charles Davis in 1989 as follows: "This female headcrest was probably for an initiation society, restricted to women and related to the Boki egbege society, which plays an improtant role in female affairs, especially the institution of the fattening house for prospective brides. The masker, a male was concealed under a long garment that covered the body and extended to the ankles. The small white eyes indicate that the mask represents a dead ancestor and thus their moral authority." ----------------------------------------------------- Sandro Bocola was already interested in African art at a young age. He began collecting artifacts from this tribe when he bought his first Ekoi mask. The following text about the Ekoi is taken from the publication "Sandro Bocola. Texts and documents of his life and work" (self-published in 2021; pages 294 and 295). The skin-covered masks from the Cross River region of Nigeria and Cameroon are unique in that their design concept and technique are not known in any other part of the world. It is assumed that they spread from the Ekoi people, who number around 200,000 souls, to the other Cross River tribes (the Widekum, Egjaham, Bi-fanka and Anang), which are linguistically related to them, with each of these tribes creating their own type of mask. There has been much speculation about the origins of this practice, but there are some clues. The Ekoi were not only slave traders supplying European customers operating in the port city of Old Calibar, but were also headhunters who originally regarded and displayed their captured human heads as trophies. In his famous book In the Shadow of the Bush, published in 1912, Amaury Talbot, a British civil servant and anthropologist with many interests, who undertook several trips to research the Ekoi, reports how the natives performed a war dance in his honor, in which they presented the bleeding heads of their enemies, which had just been cut off and impaled on poles. Several museums also have masks in which the skulls of the decapitated enemies are covered with skin (see the specimen on display). Since this practice was banned by the colonial powers, wood-carved headdresses covered with antelope skin were used as dance masks. In rare cases, however, these were also covered with human skin. One such example can be found in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. The broad spectrum of these works is astonishing. In addition to human heads and those that combined human and animal features, skeletons of crocodiles or other animals were also covered with skin. The aesthetics and naturalistic design of these heads caused such a sensation that the Ekoi created a corresponding, equally naturalistic but general type of mask, which they sold in many variations to the European traders, explorers and travelers of Old Calibar. The famous example of this type in the Musee de l'Homme corresponded to Le Corbusier's design ideals, while the surreal, frightening and disturbing Ekoi masks probably did not interest him. Another highly unusual custom of the Ekoi is that after the death of important members of the tribe, their portrait is made as a naturalistically carved, skin-covered head with the hair of the deceased and used as a mask for dances. CHF 1 000 / 2 000 Weight in grams: 379 Condition: The condition (possible wear, signs of use, tears, possible other impairments and the signs of age etc.) of this lot can be seen in the photos we have uploaded for your documentation. If you have any questions about this item, please do not hesitate to contact Hammer Auctions ([email protected]). The information regarding the condition of the items provided for the convenience of interested parties is an opinion only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Hammer Auctions accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions. In the rare event that the item does not match the description in the catalog, Hammer Auctions is here to help. Buyers may return the lot for a full refund provided they notify Hammer Auctions within 5 days of receiving the lot.