Ancestral Screen

late 19th century

Ijo, African

On View

African, Level 1, North Wing

Ancestral Screen: 1 of Collection Gallery

Ancestral Screen: 2 of Collection Gallery

Ancestral Screen: 3 of Collection Gallery

Ancestral Screen: 4 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

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About the Artwork

This altarpiece, composed of wicker, wood, and wires, is a memorial to an ancestor among the Kalabari Ijo people of coastal Nigeria. Such objects are known as duen fobara (“the forehead of the ancestor”), symbolizing the ancestor’s continual presence and enabling living relatives to communicate with them during a crisis. Around 1910, a local Christian evangelist convinced families to burn their altars. Consequently, duen fobaras are among the rarest African art.

Before 1900, every Kalabari family reserved a space for its ancestral altarpieces. A duen fobara often honored a family elder who became wealthy and influential in the European trade. The ancestor’s prominent central position, flanked by smaller family members, suggests his superior social rank. He wears a top hat, a status symbol, while masks depicting decapitated enemies allude to his war prowess.

Many of this altarpiece’s formal elements reveal the profound impact of centuries of European interactions. Unlike traditional African sculpture, typically carved from a single wood block, this altarpiece assembles several individually created parts. Its precise right-angled corners and incised surface decorations are probably derived from European carpentry. European book illustrations and photography may have also inspired the arrangement of human figures.

Title Ancestral Screen

Artwork Date late 19th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Ijo

Medium Iroko wood, earth pigments, plant fibers, and metal

Dimensions Overall: 48 × 35 × 15 inches (121.9 × 88.9 × 38.1 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2003.21

Markings

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Provenance

(Davis Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA);
2003-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

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We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Ijo, African, Ancestral Screen, late 19th century, iroko wood, earth pigments, plant fibers, and metal. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, 2003.21.