Ibeji Pair with Bluing

Yoruba traditional beliefs and practices have been evolving from the outset. Long ago, the Yoruba recognized that they were beset by a high rate of twin pregnancies and that the resultant births were often troubled. Even in the age of modern medicine, multiple births are risky for the mother and the babies. Low birth weights and premature deliveries are common. The Yoruba responded to the resultant high rate of infant mortality with a belief system that required couples who lost one or both twins to create a carving symbolizing the lost child, serving as its embodiment after the fact. These figures, solitary and in pairs, are known as ibejis. They are ritually fed, adorned, and looked after by their mothers to appease the spirit of the dead child so that it does not become jealous of its surviving siblings and bedevil the family with trickery and misfortune.

This particular pair was collected in the 1960s in Nigeria by the late Marshall Mount. At the time, Mount was a Fulbright scholar studying post-independence trends in Nigerian contemporary painting and sculpture. He later taught art history at the college level in Nigeria and New York City. This pair shows age and much handling; the dolls are adorned with what is now well-oxidized camwood powder. Their coiffures are decorated with Reckitt’s blue, a synthetic pigment introduced from Europe as an additive in rinse water to make laundered whites appear bright and clean. $1,300

10″

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