Twin Memorial Figure, Ere Ibeji

Place CreatedAbeokuta, Nigeria, Africa

CultureYoruba, Yewa (Egbado/Egba)

Dateca. 1860 -1910

MediumWood, beads

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions9 in. (22.9 cm)

Object number1994.004.719

Label TextThe Yoruba believe that twins are semidivine and possess special powers. If a twin dies, the parents consult a diviner who may decide that an ere ibeji should be carved as a substitute for the deceased child. Ere ibeji are bathed, fed, and played with, just as a living child would be. These actions are intended to please the soul of the deceased twin so that he or she will bring good fortune to the family. Ere ibeji are not portraits, and ibeji are shown as physically mature adults in the hopes that the child's spirit will return in another life and grow to adulthood.
Exhibition HistoryAfrican Artistry: Technique and Aesthetics in Yoruba Sculpture, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, April 17 - May 25, 1980
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, May 11, 1993 - July 1994
Art of Nigeria from the William S. Arnett Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, October 15, 1994 - January 2, 1995
Five Continents-Nine Millennia, Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, International Concourse E, March 1995 - November 1996
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, July 19, 2003 - March 13, 2007
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, November 19, 2007 - July 2012
Paper Moon, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia, August 30 - December 6, 2012
Published ReferencesHenry John Drewal, African Artistry: Technique and Aesthetics in Yoruba Sculpture (Atlanta: High Museum of Art, 1980), 52, number 63.

ProvenanceEx coll. William Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia, from at least 1980.

Status

Not on view

Collections