This powerful polychrome sculpture was made by an artist of the Idoma group. It depicts a pregnant female seated on a stool, with her hands resting upon her knees. The proportions are approximately correct, but with a slightly elongated torso and a larger head than might have been expected. The piece is highly impactive due to the strong contrast between the dark-painted wood and the light colour of the face. This white pigment has also been used to highlight the arms and the upper chest, in a cruciform fashion. The face is small-featured, with dark eyebrows and a forehead crest. The eyes are almond-shaped, with a small, flaring mouth and a trilobate nose; all the features are very reserved and understated. The white pigment ceases at the ears, where there is a panel on each side, suggesting keloid scarifications. The head is surmounted by an ornate ribbed hat with a band around the circumference. The body is rounded and curved but not obese, thus drawing attention to her evident pregnancy. The breasts are large and pointed, and add to the general sense of a maternity figure. Detailing is nugatory, with the exception of the very large umbilicus; all other details (such as the fingers and toes) is very basic, in order to accentuate the figure’s graceful lines.

The Idoma – who live in Nigeria – are a highly inscrutable group who appears to have originated in Kwararafa, Igalaland and Igboland. They speak an Akweya language and are thus allied with the Benue-Congo tribes, while their material culture is most frequently confused with that of the Igbo and Tiv (Nigeria). They are farmers and traders, with an artistic repertoire focused around masks (linked to funeral rites), severely reductivist headdresses (linked to meetings of the Oglinye warrior society) and two forms of fecundity figures – Anjenu and Ekwotame – of which this is an example of the latter.

Ekwotame sculptures present an interesting paradox. These dark-painted figures are linked to the notion of ancestors and lineage. While one might thus expect them to be solely occupied with boosting fertility in the community, they are more specifically associated with lineage past; thus they are associated with funerals, and are traditionally placed near to the deceased. The identity of the people depicted is based upon specific ancestresses; it is probable that the onlooker could identify the origin of this piece by the format of the scarifications and style of execution. In the current case one might expect the status of the woman to be high, in light of her headwear, jewellery and – particularly – her stool, as these are always associated with elites.

This is a very unusual and striking piece of African art.