Male twin figure "ere ibeji" in cowrie cape ·  Nigeria, Yoruba, Oyo · ID: 3033173

Description

wood, middle brown patina, camwood powder “osun”, indigo blue paint, elongated head with a four-lobed high towering coiffure, lancet-shaped tribal marks on forehead and cheeks, tapering mouth, drilled pupils, typical marks on the abdomen, grooved ornamentation running around the base, slightly dam., abrasion of paint, washing patina; three-parted cape of several layers of fabric, originally sewn with cowrie snails all over (now missing in some areas), dam.;
in the style of the “Igbuke” family of carvers.
More than anywhere else, “ibeji” from Oyo can be found wearing cowry coats. Cowry shells were once legal tender in West Africa, and this gesture is an indication of the high regard paid to the deceased by his family, and the wealth of the family as well.

Comparing literature

Stoll, Gert, Ibeji, Zwillingfiguren der Yoruba, München 1980, p. 161, ill. 57