IDNO

P.171778.GIJ

Description

A tableau of clay figures under a thatched roof in an Mbari house representing a priest and communicants in a catholic church service. The three figures in the foreground have their backs to the camera. They are kneeling on raised blocks. The figure to the left is male dressed in striped shirt and trousers with braces. The figure in the middle is wearing shorts with a belt and a striped shirt. The figure on the right is wearing a dress with a belt. There is another figure wearing a striped shirt and a hat in the background sitting on another raised block to the right. The figures are praying, facing a standing figure dressed as a priest, wearing a crucifix, with arms raised. There is a table in front of the priest figure with a pith helmet and books. [Description from record P.170799.GIJ, PB 14/11/2024]

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; Southeast Nigeria; Imo State; Oratta; Umowa

Cultural Affliation

Igbo [historically Ibo]; Oratta Ibo

Named Person

Photographer

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

Collector / Expedition

Date

1936

Collection Name

Jones Collection

Source

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.171730.GIJ - P.171808.GIJ were located together in an 'University of Camridge' envelope, now numbered C841/.

Bibliographical Reference: G.I. Jones describes Mbari sculptures on pp. 82-92 and Mbari house architecture on p. 104 in Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria, (Cambridge: CUP).

Bibliographical Reference: H.M. Cole describes Mbari houses and sculptures in Cole H.M., 1982. Mbari: Art and Life among the Owerri Igbo, (Bloomington: Indiana University Press).