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Ere Ibeji

Ere Ibeji are sculptures created by the Yoruba of Nigeria, a pair of twin figures that are ôactual figural representations of twins lost at childbirth,ö (Ere, p. 1). Originally, the Yoruba regarded the birth of twins or ôibejiö as ôevil, monstrous abnormalities and infanticide was a common practice,ö (Yoruba, p. 5). By the nineteenth century; however, the cult of the ere ibeji was firmly established and attitudes and practices tow`rd twins had dr`matically changed. Twins were now viewed as an omen of ôgood fortune for their family and their death a great misfortune,ö (Ere, p. 1). Ere ibeji were now sculpted to represent actual figural twins who died during childbirth. The ere ibeji exhibited at the museum I visited will be subjected to art criticism in this paper, one that will provide a description, give context, and evaluate this unique form of African artwork.

The ere ibeji I viewed are characteristic of the aesthetic of physical proportion employed by the Yoruba in sculpting twin figures of wood. However, the twins I viewed were carved in a manner that is most associated with the style of sculpting in the Abeokuta region. These twins are identical in shape, size, media and adornment. The proportions show the human physique aesthetic of the Yoruba. As one art critic maintains, this aesthetic includes ôThe head one third the size of the body, because the head is associated with a personÆs destiny or inner head, which determines success and failure in life,ö (Twin, p. 1).

The ere ibeji sculptures show the Yoruba focus on achieving human resemblance as opposed to photographic likeness, but even though the sculptures are stylized they show the Yoruba attention to detail. The facial features and expressions are finely etched and show delicacy of detail. The limbs of the sculptures show a primitive representation of human likeness, including thick toes and balloon-like arms. Iro

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Ere Ibeji. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 03:52, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1710329.html