Ikem helmet mask fragment
Ikem masquerade societies were formed in the 1890s by Efik and Efut residents of the port city of Calabar. In contrast to the elite Ekpe society, the ranks of Ikem were open to the descendants of enslaved people and may have included some older women. Explicitly populist in nature, the society organized and performed satirical dramas that conveyed social commentary. This fragment of a multifaced ikem helmet mask from the Igbo-speaking village of Ozu Item, some one hundred miles inland, attests to the reach of this modern tradition. Originally covered with animal hide in the Calabar style, its densely perforated scalp likely once held tufts of hair, porcupine quills, or feathers.
Artwork Details
- Title: Ikem helmet mask fragment
- Artist: Southern Igbo, Ibibio, or Anaang artist
- Date: 1900–30
- Geography: Nigeria, Ozu Item, Cross River region
- Culture: Ibibio or Igbo peoples, Ozu Item group (?)
- Medium: Wood, pigment, plant fiber remnants
- Dimensions: H. 23 x W. 12 1/2 x D. 7 3/4 in. (58.4 x 31.8 x 19.7 cm)
- Classification: Wood-Sculpture
- Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Margaret Plass, 1955
- Object Number: 1978.412.287
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
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