OBJECT history REUNITED: TWO URHOBO SHRINE SCULPTURES After being separated for at least four decades, a pair of fine Urhobo statues were recently reunited 130 in the Africarium, a private collection located in New Jersey (figs. 1–3). They were carved by the same artist around 1850 and in all likelihood originated in the same shrine. Nearly life size, one is a warrior and the other a nursing mother, whose baby became detached and was lost sometime in the past. Although they have suffered significant damage through the years, they rank among the most evocative and powerful surviving examples of Urhobo artistry. The female figure is well documented in its travels outside Urhoboland. It was brought to Europe by Philippe Guimiot in 1972 and spent nearly thirty years in the collection of Baudouin de Grunne, after which it returned to Guimiot before finding its current owner. Over the years it has been featured in a number of exhibitions and publications. The male was part of the Georges Loiseau Collection in Abidjan in the early 1970s, after which it passed through different owners in Belgium and France before being offered by Bernard de Grunne at the 2013 Parcours des Mondes in Paris, after which it was able to rejoin its mate at the Africarium. The two had been reunited briefly in my 2004 exhibition Where Gods and Mortals Meet: Continuity and Renewal in Urhobo Art at the Museum for African Art in New York City, where they were displayed together in a group of other statues. In arranging the exhibition using photos, I had a strong suspicion that they were “brother and sister” or maybe “father and daughter.” It wasn’t until we installed the show that the true closeness of their relationship became apparent. These two large sculptures are the work of a single hand, one that ranks among the best of Urhobo artists. Notable in this individual’s style is the precise rendering of the head, from the swelling of the forehead to the concave curve of the cheeks and the sharp lines of the jaw that terminates in an aggressive, open mouth. Other elements of the form are also worthy of note, the swelling of the chest and the finely faceted surfaces of the legs prominent among them. Especially important is the curvature of the back, which is sculpted in a gradual top-to-bottom curve while at the same time having a slight side-to-side concavity. This dou- By Perkins Foss FIG. 1 (far right): Pair of reunited shrine figures, edjo-re-akare. Urhobo, southern Nigeria. Mid 19th century. The Africarium, New Jersey. Photo: James Worrell. FIG. 2 (top right): Back of male warrior shrine figure, edjo-re-akare. Urhobo, southern Nigeria. Mid 19th century. Wood, traces of pigment. H: 143.5 cm. The Africarium, New Jersey. Photo: James Worrell. FIG. 3 (bottom right): Back of female oni emo (maternity) shrine figure, edjo-re-akare. Urhobo, southern Nigeria. Mid 19th century. Wood, traces of pigment. H: 138 cm. The Africarium, New Jersey. Photo: James Worrell.
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