ère ìbejì (Figure)

Ère Ìbejì is a wooden figure that was carved in honour of a twin who died. Yorubas believe that twins share a soul, so the family was to treat the figure as they would if the twin was still physically present. As a result, the twin was fed, washed and cared for.

The donors said the piece was exhibited at the US Information Services Exhibition, Cocoa House, Ibadan.

Sitting female figure (ibeji) with two children, on a rectangular base. Woman sits on a decorated four-legged stool and wears a wrap-around garment, with a geometrical pattern, in which a child is held on her back. The child is wearing a hat, bracelets, and an ornate garment hanging on the shoulders, and hands resting on the mother's arms. A second child is positioned across the woman's knees with the child's head cradled in her hands. The woman wears a headdress or stylized hair arrangement, has prominent facial features; she has three vertical double incisions on each cheek, an elongated neck, and protruding breasts. She also wears a necklace and multiple bracelets on each arm,