**First Time At Auction**

West Africa, Nigeria, Igbo (Ibo), ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden mask known as an ogbodo enyi which translates approximately to "elephant spirit / friend of the village? (the word "enyi" is both elephant and friend). A curious composite of a stylized and highly abstract elephant face with a smaller anthropomorphic visage carved into the top, the surface painted with white kaolin and darker brown-black hues. The main face of this mask has recessed sockets with bulbous eyes and a humanoid nose, a jutting, overhanging trunk, and 2 tusks below. The costume and mask combination would often be heavy and cumbersome- the wearer needed to summon stamina and emulate the elephant's strength! Size: 7.5" L x 8" W x 16" H (19 cm x 20.3 cm x 40.6 cm)

Provenance: ex-collection of the late Peter Arnovick, San Francisco, California, USA, acquired before 1995

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#180113

Old and inactive insect holes dotting surface. Stable pressure fissures, small losses, and chips to wood. Wear and fading to pigments, but good remains to weathered surface.