拍品专文
Les statues ekpu du peuple Oron sont de puissantes représentations des aînés et des ancêtres, se distinguant comme des puissants repères généalogiques. Leur forme est unique parmi les autres expressions artistiques du sud-est du Nigeria, les rendant vraiment remarquables. William Fagg, dans son catalogue de la collection Reswick au Cleveland Museum of Art, a loué la statuaire ekpu des Oron comme « sans doute l'une des plus impressionnantes de tous les styles africains. Il peut sembler difficile de croire que Constantin Brâncuși n'ait pas été familier avec un exemple de ce style avant de créer des formes sculpturales pures si remarquablement similaires aux œuvres oron en terme de forme et d'émotion » (Fagg, W., African Tribal Images, Cleveland, 1986, p. 163).
Notre statue illustre le style classique ekpu, bien qu'elle s'écarte légèrement par sa simplicité des représentations plus courantes ou récentes.
The Ekpu figures of the Oron people serve as powerful representations of elders and ancestors, standing out as eloquent genealogical markers. Their unique form sets them apart from other artistic expressions in South Eastern Nigeria, making them truly remarkable. William Fagg, in his catalogue of the Reswick collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art, praised the Ekpu statuary of Oron as “surely among the most deeply impressive of all the African styles. It may seem hard for us to believe that Constantin Brâncuși cannot have been familiar with any example of this style before creating pure sculptural forms so remarkably similar to the Oron works in form and feeling” (Fagg, W., African Tribal Images, Cleveland, 1986, p. 163).
Our present figure illustrates the classical Ekpu style, though it departs slightly in its simplicity from more common or recent representations.
Notre statue illustre le style classique ekpu, bien qu'elle s'écarte légèrement par sa simplicité des représentations plus courantes ou récentes.
The Ekpu figures of the Oron people serve as powerful representations of elders and ancestors, standing out as eloquent genealogical markers. Their unique form sets them apart from other artistic expressions in South Eastern Nigeria, making them truly remarkable. William Fagg, in his catalogue of the Reswick collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art, praised the Ekpu statuary of Oron as “surely among the most deeply impressive of all the African styles. It may seem hard for us to believe that Constantin Brâncuși cannot have been familiar with any example of this style before creating pure sculptural forms so remarkably similar to the Oron works in form and feeling” (Fagg, W., African Tribal Images, Cleveland, 1986, p. 163).
Our present figure illustrates the classical Ekpu style, though it departs slightly in its simplicity from more common or recent representations.