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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
TRANSFERRED June 9, 2014
Oron Ancestral Figure (Ekpu)
Oron people, southeastern Nigeria
Medium/Technique
Wood
Dimensions
Overall: 120.7 cm (47 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of William E. Teel to the MFA for transfer to the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Accession NumberAPP.2014.226
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsSculpture
ProvenanceUntil at least 1970, Oron Museum, near Calabar, Nigeria [see note]. By 1996, René David, Zurich; 2004, sold by René David, through the Galerie Walu, Zurich, to William Teel, Marblehead, MA; 2014, bequeathed by William Teel to the MFA and transferred to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
NOTE: Published by Keith Nicklin, Ekpu: Oron Ancestor Figures from South Eastern Nigeria (London, 1999), pl. 40, cat. no. 326, photo credit National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria. In Appendix III, p. 111, cat. no. 326 is listed among the Ekpu carvings that survived the depradations of the the Nigerian Civil War, or Biafran War (1967-1970), suggesting that it was still part of the Oron Museum collection in 1970. When and how it was removed from the museum is not known.
Documentation that appears to be issued by the National Commission of Museums and Monuments, which was provided at the time of the sculpture's sale in 2004, waives ownership rights by the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, recent correspondence from the office of the Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, has cast doubts upon the authenticity of this documentation.
NOTE: Published by Keith Nicklin, Ekpu: Oron Ancestor Figures from South Eastern Nigeria (London, 1999), pl. 40, cat. no. 326, photo credit National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria. In Appendix III, p. 111, cat. no. 326 is listed among the Ekpu carvings that survived the depradations of the the Nigerian Civil War, or Biafran War (1967-1970), suggesting that it was still part of the Oron Museum collection in 1970. When and how it was removed from the museum is not known.
Documentation that appears to be issued by the National Commission of Museums and Monuments, which was provided at the time of the sculpture's sale in 2004, waives ownership rights by the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, recent correspondence from the office of the Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, has cast doubts upon the authenticity of this documentation.