IDNO

N.13057.GIJ

Description

View of the rear of painted wooden model of a train inside a building. A man figure is standing at the back of the train, carrying a signal flag. Electricity pylons run parallel with the train. The interior walls are painted with ?multi-coloured patterns.

Physical Condition: Brittle, yellowing negative.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; Eastern Nigeria; Nike

Cultural Affliation

Igbo [historically Ibo]

Named Person

Photographer

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Collector / Expedition

Date

1932 - 1939

Collection Name

Jones Collection

Source

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Format

Film Negative Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

This negative was kept in a film storage album labelled “Misc” by G. I. Jones, and numbered “C10/” by the cataloguer.

Context: This image is one of a series of images of the “train juju” at Nike town. The “idea of building houses decorated with carvings ostensibly for the honour of the village or town deity, but primarily for the prestige of the place, occurred sporadically during the 1930s in a number of ... Ibo communities. For example, the people Nike (Northern Ibo) whose land was traversed by the Nigerian Eastern railway, made a house with a wooden model of a railway train complete with passengers and other accessories for the honour of their tutelary deity.” (Jones, G.I., 1984, p.10 )

Bibliographical Reference: Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press)

This negative was kept in a film storage album labelled “Misc” by G. I. Jones, and numbered “C10/” by the cataloguer.

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 27/11/2007]