Context (Production / use)
Exhibited in Ursula Jones' house in a square dark wooden box with a round cut-out in the top section. An oblong white paper label adheres to the box and reads [in G.I. Jones' manuscript in brown ink]: 'Ibo/Ugbom/Figure'.
Event Date 3/6/2014
Author: Remke van der Velden

Context (References)
Publications by G.I. Jones :
Jones, G. I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.
Jones, G. I., 1989. Ibo Art. Shire Ethnography. Shire Publications.
Event Date 3/6/2014
Author: Remke van der Velden

Context (Acquisition Details)
Gwilyam Iwan 'G.I.' Jones (1904 - 1995) was a colonial officer in southern Nigeria from 1926 to 1946, before becoming Lecturer in Social Anthropology at Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College. He undertook further periods of fieldwork and published major books on southern Nigeria that are still highly regarded for their sensitivity to historical complexity.
For more than twenty years, MAA has cared for Jones’ exceptionally rich photographic archive, which documents the great masquerade traditions and other aspects of the culture of the region. In February 2013 the Museum acquired part of Jones’ personal collection of artefacts, assembled over the decades he worked in Igboland, the Cross River and other regions. The group of masks, carvings and other works represent vital aspects of belief, history and art over the middle twentieth century.
The G.I. Jones collection of West African material was purchased on February 1 2014 from his widow Ursula Jones who generously allowed MAA to select from G.I’s personal collection in her home. Purchase funded partly through donations by Jesus College, John Goodliffe, Margaret Risbeth and the Wenbam Smith Family (as of June 3 2014).
Featured in Jones, G.I.,1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press. Fig. 9.

Event Date 3/6/2014
Author: maa

Description (CMS Description)
Record for 2014.282[.1]: 'An armless female dark wooden Ugbom figure carried as part of a mask in women's fertility rituals. Protruding brow with a small relief carved circle in the centre. The back of the figure has finely incised decorations on the head and lower back. Two thin cracks running down back of the head. Base of figure severely damaged by insects causing the figure to need support in order to stand upright. Left knee and right buttock chipped. Condition: Fair.'
Event Date 3/6/2014
Author: maa

Context (Display)
Exhibited in the Micro Gallery MAA from 13 March 2013 - 19 May 2014 as a means to raise awareness and funding for the acquisition of the G.I. Jones Collection. . The exhibition label reads: 'Ugbom mask. Wood. Probably Umuahia area, Southeast Igboland, Nigeria. 1930s. Ugbom figures sat in a basketry base and were tied to a male dancer's head, along with two rotating basketry wheels covered in cloth and feathers. In the dance, women wove in and around male dancers who honoured Ala (Earth) and her role in fertility. These masks were danced by the Ibeku, Olokoro, Oboro, Ngwa and Ozu- Item groups, but the masquerade was in decline in the 1930s when this figure was collected.'
Event Date 4/6/2014
Author: Remke van der Velden