Ikenga Statue

Materials Object Type Origin People Grouping

 Wood      Shrine            Nigeria Ikenga  Ancestral

Date

Late 19th Century.

This is a statue of ancestral power which is very important to the Nigerian people, as a symbol of their heritage, esteem, and strength. Its essence centers and focuses on the individual that possesses it, as an object of the strength and power of that individual. CMAAEEC has one of the largest ever produced in Nigeria, created by a small ethnic group,”Kinga” of Northern Nigeria, particularly renowned for their artistic creations of Heritage power figures of their people. These carvings are symbolized by extraordinary detail and intricate engravings of the wood, to produce an amazing combination of balanced and symmetrical carvings of animalistic and human anthropomorphic forms. The medicine man “carver’s” work has resulted in this powerful omnipotent figure. This massive statue from the bottom up, holding a myriad of animalistic figures that represent weaponry – a curved striking spear, with circular forms protruding pointing daggers around each ear of the figure’s head representing the power and force that comes from within.