Ikenga, Ichi, and ultra-long Horns

Interesting Ikenga at auction in Dec 2020. Ikenga is a ‘ritual object’ (commonly found in Igbo family shrines), which on an individual basis represents ‘masculine strength’ and the ‘ability to achieve one’s goals through one’s efforts’. 

Shaw Ikenga : Merrill’s Auctioneers

Provenance – 19th/early 20th c African Tribal carved wooden figure, descended from Albert Shaw 1857- 1947, Author, Historian, Editor of the Review of Reviews, member of the American Antiquarian Society, eroded, crusty surface, loss to base, ht 20 1/4″

Ikenga Ichi composite

I couldn’t resist developing a composite comparing the treatment of the Ichi detail on the piece versus the actual scarification detail.

The other area that caught my attention was the length (almost half of the carving) and straightness of the horns. These horns are more symbolic and seem to suggest that success is driven more by will than by any physical or material accruement.