Seated male figure
Description
wood, partly encrusted patina, remains of polychrome paint, in a static posture throning on a stool, adorned with carved bracelets and scarifications on body and face, projecting forehead crest, rep. (missing part shoulder), cracks, missing parts through insect caused damage, traces of abrasion;
apart from “ikenga” figures which are personal shrines carved for individual adult men, most of the Igbo figures were created to address community concerns, and most were collectively owned, if sometimes by lineages on behalf of a larger group. Most figural sculptures were housed in shrines dedicated to tutelary deities heading public cults and associated with parts of the natural world such as rivers, forests, the earth, or with days of the week and the markets held on them.