Male twin figure "ere ibeji" · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3038215
Description
wood, matt reddish brown patina, black and indigo blue paint at the coiffure, richly adorned with two strings of miniature glass beads and coconut shell discs around the hips, metal ring and abundant strings of cowrie shells, facial features extremely rubbed off through repeated feeding procedures, eyes with drilled pupils, the base carved with incised pattern;
cowry shells were once legal tender in West Africa. The adornment with cowries is an indication of the high regard paid to the deceased by his family, and of the wealth of the family as well.
The object Male twin figure “ere ibeji” with the object ID 3038215 was last part of the auction 79th Tribal Art Auction at March 21, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 318 achieved a sales price of EUR 900.
You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.