Pair of twins Ibedji Yoruba Nigeria Wood, brass,... Lot 30

Pair of twins Ibedji Yoruba Nigeria Wood, brass, pigments H.: 23.5 cm. (each) Pair of male-female twins with oversized oval crested headdresses. Straight bodies, powerful limbs, short legs, hands placed along the thighs. Eyes are bulging, eyelids lined with ridges, lips thick. The cheeks are marked with characteristic scarification. Wrists and ankles are decorated with brass bracelets. Blue colour on the headdress and ears. These objects are related to the cult of twins of great importance among the Yoruba. The twins form a spiritual unity. When one of the twins dies, a statuette is made to house the soul of the missing twin. It is clothed, washed, and fed like a living child, and is a moving testimony to filial love beyond death. Late replacement objects, when the originals have been sold, harvested, stolen, or destroyed, often made by the same carver as the originals, these objects have been used. Circa 1960. Consultant: Jean-Pierre LACOSTE