IDNO

P.73728.GIJ

Description

A documentation photograph of two wooden figures. The male figure on the left is an Ijo [Ijaw] sculpture and the female figure on the right is an Edo figure that was bought in Warri, on the bank of the River Niger.

The Ijo sculpture is standing on a rounded base; the head of the figure is rectangular in shape and there is a hat on top of the head with a dog-tooth edging, the face has a high forehead with slit eyes, nose and long rectangular mouth with teeth and pointed ears and decorative dots in a line under the eyes and on the neck. The neck is thick and the shoulders are rounded, the upper torsos is painted with dots, a round umbilicus, penis, and legs attached to a rounded base.

The Edo headdress consists of a carved wooden standing female figure on a rounded base attached to a bamboo coiled ring. The face of the figure shows a high forehead, slit eyes, nose and open mouth with white painted teeth. The face is a painted with a black head, black linear marking in the centre of the forehead, sides of cheeks and underneath the eyes. The upper torso depicts rounded shoulders, arms to either side, sagging breasts, umbilicus and a piece of cloth tied around the waist.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; ?southern Nigeria; near Onitsha; Niger River; ?Southeast Nigeria; Warri

Cultural Affliation

Ijo [historically Ijaw]; Edo

Named Person

Photographer

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

Collector / Expedition

Date

circa 1930 - 1939

Collection Name

Jones collection

Source

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

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.73718.GIJ to P.73813.GIJ were kept in box 16, now numbered C334/.
P.73722.GIJ to P.73754.GIJ were found wrapped in paper, now numbered C334/1/.

Context: These two figures represent interesting comparisons between the Ijo [Ijaw] style and the Edo style of sculpture.

Bibliographical Reference: Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press)
Horton, R. 1965. Kalabari Sculpture (Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dept. of Antiquities)
Anderson, M and P. Peek. 2002. Ways of the Rivers: Art and Envrironment of the Niger Delta. (UCLA)

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 9/4/2008]