Figure 1 - M.0045 Wooden Effigy from Nigeria
The Ethnography
Collection at UCL holds over 3000 objects and materials from a wide range of
contexts all over the world. African
objects make up the largest portion of this collection, and one such item
originates from the Igbo speaking people of Nigeria. M.0045 (Figure 1) is an
effigy made of painted wood, with a cane and plant material base. Not much more is known about this object,
with there being no information on when or by whom it was collected, or even
when it was donated to the Anthropology Department.
Figure 2 - Igbo Masquerade - courtesy of Ebere Groenouwe, KSAM
The Igbo
speaking people are known for their cultural diversity, their art styles vary
as you move across their territory, and much of it is borrowed from the tribes
surrounding them. As there was no
information on the record about who may have collected and donated the
headdress it was quite hard to narrow down specific information on its
significance. At first all I was sure of
was the fact that it was some sort of effigy, although its cane basketry would
soon point me towards masks and masquerades (Figure 2). With this pivotal bit
of information the significance of the object became clear, as through it the
Igbo’s were connected to the spirit world, allowing ancestors and nature to
impart wisdom and affect the physical world.
The headdress now has multiple values, spiritual, aesthetic, and
educational, whose intermingling has led to some destruction; namely the
removal of attachments to present it in its more basic state.
Figure 3 - Previous location of the Wooden Headdress
Figure 4 - New Mount for the Wooden Headdress
Although the
figure was once in a very unstable location, one that left it susceptible to
abrasion and bumps, the creation of a new mount has removed some of the danger
(Figures 3 & 4). The damage it has
already accrued is minor, relegated to the back of the object, and some of its
holes. The feature that is in the worst
condition would be the layer of kaolin white paint, which has flaked off
extensively on the torso of the figure. This may have resulted in the flaking
of a black layer of paint that had been applied over the kaolin, thus removing
any patterns or symbols that may once have been there (Figure 5). The object would definitely benefit from
being in a more stable environment for the sake of the paint layer, although
the wood itself seems to be withstanding the fluctuations that occur in its
current environment.
Figure 5 - Flaking of kaolin paint
READING LIST
All images produced by author, please do not use without authorisation.
READING LIST
Enekwe, O.E. 1982. Igbo
Masks: The Oneness of Ritual and Theatre. Ph. D, Columbia University
Ashley-Smith, J., Umney, N., Ford, D. 1994. Let’s Be Honest
- Realistic Environmental Parameters. in Roy, A. & Smith, P. Preventive Conservation: Practice, Theory
and Research: Preprints of the Contributions to the Ottawa Congress, 12-16
September 1994. London: International Institute for Conservation of
Historic and Artistic Works
Bleakley, R. 1978. African
Masks. London: Thames and Hudson
Kleiner, F.S. 2009. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: A Concise
Global History. 2nd ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning
Ottenberg, S. 1975. Masked
Rituals of Afikpo. Washington: University of Washington Press
Phillips, T. 1999. Africa:
The Art of a Continent. London: Prestel
All images produced by author, please do not use without authorisation.
This post refers to coursework done for ARCLG142 (2015-16), one of
the core courses of the UCL
MA Principles of Conservation. As part of their assessed work for this course, students
were asked to investigate objects from the UCL Ethnography Collections at
the UCL Department of Anthropology. Here they present a summary of their main
conclusions. We hope you enjoy our work! Comments are most welcome.
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