Product Description
Igbo Maternity Figure, Nigeria
This Early-mid 20th century mother-and-child figures are placed in shrines and used by diviners in northeastern Igboland, Nigeria. The Igbo figures of mother and child are very rare.
Made of 100% wood, kaolin.
Model is W 55 – H 19 and weight 3.5 kg.
Description
This Early-mid 20th century mother-and-child figures are placed in shrines and used by diviners in northeastern Igboland, Nigeria. The Igbo figures of mother and child are very rare. The woman’s coiffure, facial expression, striated neck and bracelets with cowrie shells express traditional notions of beauty. In almost all African societies, the most important role of women is to bear children. Whatever else – farming, cooking, or their role in women’s associations – their primary responsibility is to produce and nurture children. In most cases, the child or children are not identifiable; indeed, they are often amorphous or even caricatural in form. Ibo sculpture is subject to rather strict rules: the figures are generally frontal, symmetrical, and upright, with legs slightly spread and arms held away from the body. The Ibo preserve numerous statues of the guardian divinities of the founding ancestors in both their family sanctuaries and the initiation association’s communal houses. Painted red, yellow and white, the scarification marks and attributes are an indication of the social rank of the person being represented. Proportions are true to those of the human body, with the exception of the neck, which is more elongated.
Living mainly in the forested areas of south-west Nigeria, the Igbo estimated population is ten million. They are subdivided into thirty-three subgroups and are spread out in approximately two hundred villages scattered through thick forests and marshland. Compromising one of the largest ethnic groupings in Nigeria the Igbo are well known for their sculptural tradition and vibrant masking performances. Living north of the Niger River their art has an extended history reaching back at least 14 hundred years to the wonderful bronzes found at Igbo Ukwu demonstrating a sculpture tradition that extends to the present. Igbo art is diverse in its many forms, materials, and use and is broken into a number of sub-styles based upon history and their physical environment. Much of their art is open to public view where the Igbo are reminded of their ancestors and of the various spirits of the Igbo pantheon of gods. Their complex belief system includes a number of deities known as alusi, who represent abstract forces of nature as well as physical places such as rivers.
Additional information
| Weight | 3.5 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 55 × 19 cm |
| Material | Bronze, Wood, Ceramic, Terracotta, Woven rattan, Leather |
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