ere ibeji (twin figure), unrecorded Oyo artist

Artwork Overview

unrecorded Oyo artist, ere ibeji (twin figure)
unrecorded Oyo artist, ere ibeji (twin figure)
unrecorded Oyo artist
ere ibeji (twin figure)
circa 1950
ere ibeji (twin figure), circa 1950
Where object was made: North Oyo, Nigeria
Material/technique: carving; wood
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 25.5 x 8.5 x 7.5 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 10 1/16 x 3 3/8 x 2 15/16 in
Credit line: Gift of Larry W. Welling
Accession number: 2007.2715
Not on display
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Exhibition Label: "For Life's Sake: Arts from Africa," Oct-1983, Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen Among the Yoruba the birth of twins is regarded as an unusual event. Upon the death of a twin, parents commission an artist to carve a commemorative figure. Only sex and descent group markings relate to the deceased. Such a twin statuette is ritually washed, dressed and fed and danced with by the mothers of twins, and generally maintained on domestic altars. The elaborate hairstyle, the sexually mature rendering of the figure are to express the full human potential of the deceased twin.