A Koro cup figure, Nigeria, with th e hollow of the cup carved on the abdomen. Signs of ritual use and age.

The Koro people settled in Nigeria, north of the junction of the Niger and Benue Rivers. They carve abstract headdresses embellished with red seeds, which are thought to symbolize ancestor spirits and are used during agricultural rites and important social or family events. The Koro also sculpt cups for beer and palm wine that are used in sacrificial offerings and in second funerals (those that, after a certain period of burial, celebrate the arrival of the dead in the afterlife).  

These anthropomorphic wooden vessels are also known as Gbene. Shaped like standing human figures, their hollowed-out abdomens form the cup itself, used for communal drinking of palm wine, beer, or oil during ritual ceremonies like funerals, sacrifices, and masked rites. They serve as striking visual records of ritual art, blending functional vessel and sculptural ancestor portrait. They also illuminate Koro beliefs about ancestry, communal ritual, and the sacred value of shared libations. Source: African art gallery.

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Height: 61 cm
Weight: 2,5 kg