Igbo Ibo Door Antique African Sculpture Nigerian Art 57" Deep Design ~ Exquisite Color ~ Custom Mount ~ RARE Start Price USD 1,695.00 Current Price USD 1,695.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, July 18, 2008 End Time Friday, July 25, 2008 Location Santa Fe, NM See more about 'Igbo Ibo Door Antique African Sculpture Nigerian Art' Description   Traditional Igbo Ibo Door of Honor, Custom StandAntique African Art Tribal Sculpture Nigeria     An Exquisite Old Igbo Ibo 57" Compound DOOR of Honor, Custom MountAntique Tribal Art - Prestige Object African Sculpture - Nigeria Collected from the: Igbo (Ibo) peoples in the Niger River Delta region of Nigeria, West AfricaMaterial: Hardwood, pigmentPeriod: Late 19th to very earliest 20th century, conservativelyDimensions: 57.5" total height with stand: door is 48" height, 25" width, 1.75" depthWeight: 26.60 pound door, 17.10 pound stand or 43.80 pounds combinedCondition: Excellent - exquisite signs of age and wear from extensive tribal use, age cracks test stable, exposed wood grain displays considerable patination, weathered surface condition indicative of great age and natural erosion from exposure to elements and earth. No indication of the standard 'rapid aging' methods commonly used on the so called 'airport art' reproductions created for the tourist market. Please click on the photos below to fully appreciate this remarkable old door ! And be sure to see the fascinating AFRICAN SCULPTURES in our eBay store! Or explore our collection of WEST AFRICAN TRIBAL ART ! Click Images to Enlarge Igbo Ibo Door TraditionsIgbo doors are normally carved in hardwood – which is considered ‘male’ – including African oak. Most embellished doors were used at main entrance portals of domestic compounds, typically those housing families of titled men and women. They may also adorn the compounds of tutelary deities, especially in the north-central Igbo region. Such fine portals are called mgbo ezi, meaning ‘doors of honor’. Among the Igbo, a decorated, elaborate portal serves to signal elevated status, relative wealth and good taste while separating the more profane world of the outside from the family sanctuary and shrines within. Many such Igbo doors were further decorated with locally obtained white, orange-red and black pigments, adding brightness and thus visibility to compound entrances that from the outset were intended as visual magnets drawing attention to the habitations of prominent families or gods. Igbo Ibo Tribal HistoryThe 8,000,000 Igbo people settled in an area of forests and swamps in the northern part of the Niger River Delta in southern Nigeria and live primarily from farming. Village councils composed of the eldest people from each family govern the tribe though their power is counter-balanced by secret societies. Igbo arts are notable for their quality, diversity and quantity, comprising a vast corpus of sophisticated figural sculptures and masks, implements, paintings, and architecture in terracotta, ivoire, iron, various fibers, unfired clay, bronze, brass and wood all created to serve a critical role in upholding Igbo values – from the emotional and psychological well-being of an individual to the larger world view and continuity of an entire community. These arts functioned simultaneously to improve and reflect the quality of life, to honor gods, and to entertain. The earliest Igbo art forms - spectacular copper-alloy castings from Igbo-Ukwu - date back to the tenth century and are considered the earliest known fine metal objects from tropical Africa. Virtually no aspect of Igbo life is untouched by aesthetic concerns. Recommended reading: Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos (Cole and Aniakor) and Africa: The Art of a Continent (Phillips). 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