Female of Twin Figures

CultureYoruba peoples

Dateearly 20th century

MediumWood, beads, shell, metal, fiber, and camwood powder

DimensionsOverall: 11 × 3 1/8 inches (27.94 × 7.94 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund

Object number92-16/2

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionStanding female figure, with arms to the side and elaborate hair style (traces of indigo on surface of hair). Camwood pigment can be found impacted in recesses of figure. The figure wears beaded necklaces, waist beads, and a metal bracelet.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

Twins are considered to be ibejiworo (spirit-children), whose closeness to the gods brings families good or ill fortune. If one twin dies, parents commission a commemorative depiction of the child in ideal adulthood to be dressed and placed in a family shrine. In this way, the deceased twin continues to be cared for and honored by ritual feeding and applications of palm oil, camwood powder and prestigious indigo. The lustrous, worn surfaces of these two figures indicate years of such care. They were most likely carved by the same artist but represent one child from each of two sets of twins born to different families.

Provenance

With Merton Simpson Gallery, New York, NY [1];

With Affrica, Washington, DC, by May 1992;

Purchased from Affrica by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1992.

NOTES:

[1] According to Mona Gavigan, Affrica, in documentation provided at the time of the object’s purchase, NAMA curatorial files.

Published References

Newsletter (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, April 1993: 2-3, (repro.).

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 86, (repro.).

Joyce M. Youmans, “African Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,” African Arts 33, no. 4 (Winter 2000), 49, 54-55, (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 249, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.