101 - Anthropomorphic statue

Anthropomorphic statue featuring a nude ancestor standing with arms detached from his body and a round belly. He wears a goatee and his face, highly stylized, is purified to the extreme. The head is topped by a mushroom-shaped protrusion. Wood with old weathering. Oron, southeastern Nigeria 83 × 17 cm Provenance: Galerie 62, Paris Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert Collection Exhibition: Musée de Grenoble, L'art au futur antérieur. Bibliography : - Marceau Rivière, Les chefs-d'œuvre africains des collections privées françaises, 1975, reproduced on page 102 - Tosatto G. and Viatte G., L'art au futur antérieur, reproduced number 25 This statue, known as Ekpu, is an emblematic figure of the Oron people. It features an amphora-shaped belly and a round head. It personifies an important ancestor, whose symbolic presence was intended to protect the community and affirm the heritage of the lineage. Placed in a space reserved for the men of the village, it served as a witness to tradition and a link between generations, preserving the collective memory.