Rare triplés "ibeta" ·  Nigéria, Yoruba, Abéokuta · ID: 3045623

Description

wood, indigo blue pigment,
Very beautiful, extremely precise and finely crafted specimens in the style of Esubiyi, the founder of the second major carving workshop in Abeokuta (compare Homberger (1991), p. 36, ill. 47).

All three figures show the typical Abeokuta carving style characteritics: Egba tribal marks, the distinctive design of the hands and the characteristic aprons, with which the two male figures are carved.

Considering the unusual frequency of twin births, triplets are not more common among the Yoruba than in our country and are therefore very rare. The wooden figurines made for deceased triplets are called “ibeta” (“ibi” = born, “eta” - three).

Littérature comparée

Homberger, Lorenz (Hg.), Yoruba, Museum Rietberg, Zürich 1991, p. 36, ill. 47