EKET SCULPTURE

EKET Heads	EKET Heads	EKET Masks	EKET Figures
EKET Shutters	EKET Currency	EKET Figures	EKET Shield

The gallery continues its tenth season with a show of traditional masks, figures, shutters, doors and other objects from the Eket people, a subgroup of the Ibibio of Nigeria. Recognizable for their decorative patterns and repetition of shapes, Eket sculpture takes several forms.

Heads are round and mask-like, with carefully defined features and precise carving. Most are headdresses, on top of a caplike base. Face masks, usually from the Ekpo society, are more varied in size and style. Eket figures, like the heads, are usually worn as crests of headdresses. They are danced in the annual Ogbom ceremony. Many of the figures have strongly abstracted concave bodies. Others, including two complex figural groups, were more likely shrine or altar pieces. An exciting group of shutters and doors, beautifully carved with heads and geometric designs, completes the show and attests to Eket skill and love for embellishment of functional surfaces.

Most of these Eket pieces show no evidence of age or use and were probably made to be sold.