African Arts Gallery

Urhobo altar figure (N° 17999)

Former African art collection Mercier br-Les Urhobos, living near the northwest of the Niger Delta River, form the main ethnic group of the Delta State among the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They speak Urhobo, a language of the Niger-Congo group. Together with the Isoko, whose art is close, they are collectively known as Sobo. Their large sculptures depicting the spirits of nature, edjo, or the founding ancestors of the clan, to whom sacrifices were offered, were grouped in shrines within the villages. They also produce figures similar to the ikenga of igbo called iphri , ivwri , of half-animal form half-human. They personify male aggression and are intended for warriors and notables. However, after consultation with the soothsayer, young children can also wear miniature iphri in the form of geometric amulets, attached to the neck. This female figure embodies the wife of a edjo and may have been destined for a family cult. Vertical facial scarifications distinguish it from igbo sculptures. The piece is coated with locally peeled crusty light pigments. Cracks and misses.