THE QUESTION

THE ANSWER

This is one of the imitations of the classic Ibeji of the workshop of the Igbuke family in Oyo. It was made by an unknown carver working in a workshop in the distant town of Ilorin.  In any case ithis carver demonstrates good carving skills, shown in the zig-zag incisions around the base and in good parallelism of the incisions. In the recent tribal art exhibitions, in Bruxelles, "Winter BRUNEAF Hiver 2012" I had the chance to see another Ibeji very similar to this one.

The work of this Ilorin carver, because it is an imitation of the work done in another place, can not be classified in any specific type.

With regard to the rarity, in contrast with the very common Ibeji of the Igbuke family, this Ibeji is certainly not common.

                               Fausto Polo

Jean-Pierre from Belgium would like to know the provenance of this Ibeji”.