IDNO

P.31169.NWT

Description

In Blench and Alexander Catalogue for N. W. Thomas photograph collection: “2893 location: Nri; artefacts: figure; artefacts: sanza; artefacts: shield; artefacts: axe; associations: religion; ” [printed text]

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; South East Nigeria; Onitsha Province; Nri

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Thomas, Northcote Whitridge

Collector / Expedition

Date

April - May 1911

Collection Name

Northcote Thomas Collection

Source

Thomas, Northcote Whitridge

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

This print was previously stored in a box in the first drawer of a container which has four drawers. The cataloguer has marked the container C71/, the first drawer C71/1/ and the box in which this print was kept C71/1/4/.

MAA Exhibition: This series of prints and the related sanza (thumb piano) Z 14207 was exhibited in Gifts and Discoveries, 2011, and captioned: "A Musical masterpiece
Sanzas or mbiri, also known as ‘thumb pianos’, are played widely across Africa. But they are rare in Igboland, southern Nigeria, where this one comes from. It was collected between 1910 and 1913 by Northcote Thomas, Nigeria’s first government anthropologist.
Thumb pianos are often decorated, but the sculptural superstructure of this one may be unique. It is carved in the style of ikenga shrine figures, well-known among Igbo people. There are no signs of wear, suggesting that it was bought directly from the artist. Thomas’s field photos document the moment of the sculpture’s acquisition and a performance demonstrating its potential use.
Musical instrument
Ibo or Obu. Nri, Southern Nigeria
Collected by Northcote W. Thomas
Z 14207
The moment of collection
Northcote W. Thomas, 1909-13 Nri, Southern NigeriaP.31165.NWT, P.31166.NWT, P.31167.NWT & P.31169.NWT" [JD 05/07/2018]


Publication: The photograph has been digitised for the European Collected Library of Artistic Performance (ECLAP) and is accessible on the portal http://www.eclap.eu/drupal/. [SG 30/10/2012]