Female Igbomina Ibeji twins, Nigeria, standing on flat round bases, wearing blackened hairs that are dusted with washing blue in a high teased-like coiffure. Their bodies are compact with short legs, the large hands resting on their thighs. The eyes are big and half closed and the lower eye lashes are notched. The ears have a special shape; The noses and pouted lips are fleshy and like the eyes well-elaborated; elaborate beads around their necks, wrists, waists and ankles, with additional cowrie shells hanging from both of their hands; a shiny dark brown patina with thick remnants of Camwood. Certificate of origin and provenance.

"Yoruba peoples have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twins are regarded as extraordinary beings protected by Sango, the deity of thunder. They are believed to be capable of bestowing immense wealth upon their families or misfortune to those who do not honor them. Powerful spirits in life, twins are honored with carved memorial figures when they die. These figures, known as ere ibeji (literally meaning ere: sacred image; ibi: born; eji: two), remain a point of access to the spirit of the departed individual. The mother provides ritual care to the figures, bathing, dressing, adorning, and feeding them. Such daily handling is responsible for giving their surface its distinctive patina. Ere ibeji invariably represent their subjects with mature adult physiognomies, and are often crowned with elaborate hairdos."
Source: The Met Museum, NY.

sold

Height: 23 cm / 22 cm
Weight: 230 g / 220 g