English:

Depicting a standing nude female figure, her legs spread and with a prominent genital area. The face features a prominent mouth showing filed teeth, almond-shaped eyes beneath a large forehead adorned with three vertical keloids (known as ewu), and a tall hat. The neck has a large raised necklace. The body carved with what appears to be rutual Traces of chalk, ocher, and red and blue pigment are present. Erosion visible.

Français:

Grande Figure Urhobo, Nigéria.

Une représentation d'une figure féminine nue debout, les jambes écartées et la région génitale marquée. Le visage présente une bouche proéminente avec des dents limées, des yeux en amande sous un large front orné de trois chéloïdes verticales (ewu), et un haut chapeau. Le cou est orné d'un grand collier en relief. Le corps est sculpté avec ce qui semble être des motifs rituels. Des traces de craie, d'ocre, et de pigments rouges et bleus sont visibles. Erosion.

150.5 cm. high

Literature:

The Ways of the River: Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta, Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles, 2002.
Foss, P., Urhobo Statuary for Spirits and Ancestors, dans African Arts, Vol.IX, no.4, 1976.
Foss, P., Where Gods and Mortals Meet: Continuity and Renewal in Urhobo Art, New York, 2004.

Note:

According to Anderson & Peek, "The Urhobo honor both ancestors and nature spirits with their figurative sculptures. Figures dedicated to specific ancestors who played a prominent role in founding a lineage, village, or clan (eshe) preside over communal meeting houses. Standing at the center of the hall, aligned with its physical and spiritual axis, an eshe carving provides an image of leadership and moral compass for those who gather to deliberate affairs affecting the larger community. People who engage in dangerous occupations, such as warfare and hunting, may present the eshe with offerings in the process of seeking its protection. Conversely, the ancestors, who look out for and guard against antisocial activity, inflict illnesses on those who practice sorcery or witchcraft. Wrongdoers must confess their misdeeds before the figure of their esteemed ancestor if they wish to recover" (Anderson & Peet, 2002:127).

Footnote:

The top hat helps in the assignment of a date for this work of art. Popular in the second half of the nineteenth century, these hats were introduced by European visitors, and they were quickly adopted by Urhobo leadership, and in turn, they became a standard part of edjo imagery.