TRIBAL AFRICAN YORUBA ANCESTOR FIGURE NIGERIA BENIN EX DR JUSTIN COLLECTION

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TRIBAL AFRICAN YORUBA ANCESTOR FIGURE NIGERIA BENIN EX DR JUSTIN COLLECTION:
$275.00

Large Yoruba Ancestor Figure - Benin
Mid 20th Century, Original
Wood, pigment, patina
Height 76.2cm ( 30in )Ex-Dr. Justin Ph.D Collection, Tuscon, AZ; field collected in the Republic of Benin, 1978.
Ex-Kirincich Collection, Tuscon, AZ, 2008Catalog No. 1978.002.006 or 1978.008.006 found on base (7th numeral illegible).
Exhibited at our local university museum from Jan-Feb, 2010, (Cat No. 50-65)

Detailed provenance documentation on file and can accompany the artifact for historical conservation purposes.The arts of the Yoruba are as numerous as their deities, and many objects are placed on shrines to honor the gods and the ancestors. The present example is an exceptional mid 20th century work that was field collected in Benin (the Yoruba live in both South West Nigeria, Benin, Togo and other coast areas). Some of the most elaborate court art in Africa comes from the country of Benin (once called Dahomey), home of the Fon kingdom, and from western Nigeria, home of the Yoruba and Edo kingdoms. Benin City, in Nigeria, is the capital of the Edo-speaking people. The art of the Fon kingdom incorporates animal imagery, symbolically associated with royalty and with proverbs that reinforce moral laws and the power of rulers. Since the seventeenth century, Yoruba-speaking peoples have been organized in a series of kingdoms. Much Yoruba art is made in association with deities known as orisha, each associated with particular iconography. The subject sculpture displays native repairs to the base, back, and sides of face. Good condition with natural wear, age cracks (all stable), erosion on the crest, and significant wood compaction on the underside of the base. Scarifications along the face and body. Appropriate of age, origin and medium.Please note this remarkable Yoruba figure was acquired by Robert Kirincich from Dr. Neil Justin, Ph.D. in 2008. Dr. Justin is a retired anthropologist and film maker whom has led over 23 safaris throughout Africa. Kirincich met Dr. Justin through the anthropology department at the University of Arizona and noted his collection included superior objects and early weaponry from America, Africa and southeast Asia, including British colonial rifles from 19th Century used in Africa. Figures such as the present example with specific purpose and symbolism as illustrated in the following description (prepared with notes from Dr. Justin) are quite rare on the market and usually priced accordingly: \"The Yoruba spiritual philosophy stresses the tradition of working with natural forces and the ancestral realm. Ancestors observe all acts of the living and hear every spoken word. There are more than 400 known gods, or orisas in the complicated world of Yoruba religion. Some of the orisas are worshipped by all the Yoruba. Others are only worshipped by certain towns and families; and every person is given or receives a special deity to worship. A person can worship either the god of their father or mother. Women hold a powerful role in Yoruba society (ref. Gelede festivals). Although the power of males and the king is overt, that of women is still very powerful and respected, and is \"hidden\" with the reproductive and other female energies often invoked in Yoruba art. In this statue, the large figure holds in one hand what appears as a sheath or sword with a male head, the creative (penile) power of the male. In the other hand, to balance the forces of the world, is a small or young female figure, her hands pressing her breasts, holding in the milk in a nurturing and expectant gesture, and the arm of the primal \'mother\' supporting the pregnant, reproductive belly. Notice how the carver recognizes that these energies need to be balanced in nature and the large figure supports the weight of its hands by extending its own pelvic area, slightly bending the knees, planting one foot in front of the other. In Yoruba, all the energies of the seen and invisible world must be balanced. The Yoruba carver of this figure is keenly aware of the connection between his act of carving and cosmological effectiveness. The large coiffure melds into a crown-like headdress, elaborately carved with linear geometric lines and planes, the size of which adds to its importance; orisha means \'select head\' and the size of the head is important here as it often is in other Yoruba sculpture. The large classic head/face of the standing figure shows classic and perfect carving to represent the valued traits of Yoruba women, especially serenity, calmness, patience.\" - Dr. Neil Justin, Ph.D. Certainly representing a spiritual being, and as Dr. Justin suggests a connection with the divine messenger, the large figure is shown androgynous or female as the spiritual world is enigmatic and all encompassing. Its feet are the only ones planted firmly on the earth (base), as to divinate between the two and hold them in balance. The subject Yoruba figure was also exhibited at our local university museum from January to February of 2010 (see second and third to last photos).Reference Robbins, Warren M. African Art in American Collections. Schiffer Publishing, 2004, p 242, fig 617 for a related example. See last photo or view in Robbins\' book.
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