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The Collector(s) / Donor(s) Simon Ottenberg is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Washington. Having studied anthropology at Northwestern University with the famous Africanist Melville Herskovits, he began working in Africa in the early 1950s.His early research focused on various aspects of the Igbo culture of southeastern Nigeria, especially the peoples living in and around the town of Afikpo. In the late 1970s he shifted his research focus to northern Sierra Leone and the Limba people. In addition to his work in anthropology he has been a major contributor to the study of African art. He recently curated an exhibition and wrote a book dealing with a number of artists affiliated with the School of Fine Arts at the Nsukka campus of the University of Nigeria in southeast Nigeria. Since the early 1970s he has been an avid collector of African art. Professor Ottenberg donated a considerable portion of his collection to Michigan State University in 1992. Collector(s) / Donor(s) Statement The Object(s) The ikenga is an Igbo variation of a tradition found among a number of peoples in southeastern Nigeria that is grounded in the belief that a man’s ability to accomplish things successfully is embodied in his right hand or arm. This male-oriented institution concentrates on a man's skills with tools and weapons, his economic effectiveness, and his ability to win physical contests. Ikenga figures vary greatly in size and formal characteristics. They may be as high as six feet or as small as a few inches. Though always representing a male, the figure may be relatively naturalistic or highly abstract. The usual attributes associated with these wood figures are emblems of prestige and power. The male figure is often depicted holding a sword in his right hand and a trophy head in the left. Sometimes the sword is replaced with a staff of authority. Often the male figure is depicted sitting on a stool, a symbol of prestige associated with the title-taking societies of Igboland. The single most prevalent attribute, found on virtually all ikenga, is a pair of horns projecting from the top of the man's head, an allusion to the aggressive nature of male animals. This ikenga is a relatively abstract example. The body is rendered as a simple textured cylinder set on a bifurcated base. Two horns project from the top of the head. Stylistically, it is quite similar to published examples of ikenga figures coming from Umumbo in the northwest part of Igboland. This figure was purchased by Ottenberg from the Seattle-based African art collector and dealer, Michael Heide, in 1991. Further Information Books and Articles John Boston. Ikenga Figures among the North-west Igbo and the Igala. London: Ethnographica, 1977. Chike Aniakor. "Ikenga Art and Igbo Cosmos," Ikoro (Nsukka) 5 (1-2) Jul 1984: 60-71. Herbert Cole and Chike Aniakor. Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos. Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History, 1984. Internet Resourcesnone
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