Female Twin Figure (Ibeji)
Unidentified Yoruba maker
mid-20th century
Wood
Overall: 11 1/16 × 4 3/16 × 3 15/16 in. (28.1 × 10.7 × 10 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of the Estates of Catherine L. and Robert A. McKennan, Class of 1925
985.20.26446
Geography
Place Made: Nigeria, Western Africa, Africa
Period
20th century
Object Name
Figure
Research Area
Africa
On view
Label
This figure presents an elaborate upright hairstyle with markings on her stomach, typical of twin figure depictions. Twin figures are detailed spiritual figures carved to represent a twin (or twins) after death and act as a point of access for their spirit. The figure is always depicted as an adult in the prime of life, even if the twin's died as a child. - Lydia Davis ’23, Homma Family Intern
From the 2023 exhibition Homecoming: Domesticity and Kinship in Global African Art, curated by Alexandra Thomas, Curatorial Research Associate
Course History
First Year Student Enrichment Program – Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Colleen Lannon, Summer 2023
First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Mokhtar Bouba, Summer 2023
Philosophy 1.11, Art: True, Beautiful, Nasty, John Kulvicki, Summer 2023
Writing 2.05, Why Write, Anyway?, Erkki Mackey, Fall 2023
Writing 5.24, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Fall 2023
Writing 5.25, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Fall 2023
Exhibition History
Death and Dying: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Harrington Gallery Teaching Exhibition, Anthropology 55, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 11-March 26, 1995.
Homecoming: Domesticity and Kinship in Global African Art, Harteveldt Family Gallery, Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, and Northeast Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 22, 2023–May 25, 2024.
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