An ancient Ogbodo Enyi maculin mask. Often mistakenly called an elephant mask, literally "elephant spirit", it not only represents an elephant for its strength and endurance, but is also intimately associated with the spirit of a bird and that of a feline, and the masquerade in which it takes part is called Oke Ugu (the strong male lion) and concerns the strength of fighters inflicting defeat on enemies. This example from the Hélène Leloup collection is a fine archaic example of the corpus, with a compact, compact sculpture in the front section, while the anthropomorphic head sculpted at the back represents another izzi mask. It has been beautifully restored with knotted copper wire by indigenous craftsmen to preserve it. Igbo-Izzi (or Ezza), Nigeria Hardwood, wear and accidents, copper-wire restorations (original parts), very fine old oxidation of the wood, and very fine old patina. L.: 48cm (base not included) Provenance: Hélène Leloup Collection, Paris Hélène Leloup Collection, Paris Passed on by descent