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Pitt Rivers Museum

1965.8.6B

Twin figure (ibeji). Carved wooden figure with cockscomb hairstyle and skirt. [El.B 28/01/2008]

On display


1965.8.6B

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Twin figure (ibeji). Carved wooden figure with cockscomb hairstyle and skirt. [El.B 28/01/2008]
Geographical reference
Abeokuta
Cultural groups
Yoruba
Egba
Person
Maker Akinyode Family
Field collector Unknown Collector
PRM source Berkeley Galleries
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1965
Date collected
By 1965
Acquisition information
Purchased: 1965
Materials and processes
Material Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Carved, Process Painted
Dimensions
Height 232 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1965.8.6B
Research and responses

This male figure has a blue agogo (cockscomb) hairstyle usually considered a female style and a skirt which suggests that he represents a priest. See Hair in African Art and Culture (New York, The Museum for African Art) page 102/ 103. [JP 6/12/2001]

Associated publications
Listed as number 30 on page 7 of Art from the Guinea Coast (Pitt Rivers Museum, Illustrated Catalogue No. 1), Oxford: Pitt Rivers Museum (1965): 'NIGERIA Western Region ... 30. Male ibeji (twin figure) in the style of the Akinyode family of Abeokuta. These are carved on the death of a twin and cherished by the family. Yoruba (1965.8.B6.) (23.2 cm.)'. Also illustrated in black and white in unnumbered plate XIII. (For details of exhibition, see under 'Display History'.) [JC 12 9 2013]

Search terms: Figure, Body Art, Religion