Ancestors in Stone

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Ejagham artist, Nigeria; Museum purchase, Francoise Billion Richardson and Robert P. Gordy funds.

Akwanshi, c. 16th century

Centered on NOMA's recently acquired akwanshi stone monolith from the Cross River region of Nigeria, Ancestors in Stone explores the African cultural expression of the afterlife. 

In many traditions, deceased ancestors linger as important members of the community even after they are gone, venerated as a source of divine intercession in matters of wealth, fertility, and agricultural prosperity. 

Throughout history, this belief has epitomized in the form of visual arts, usually created with ephemeral and perishable materials like wood, mud, or plant and animal matter. This is based upon the belief that ancestral intervention is brief and impermanent—following the intercessory rituals, the objects lose their power and are left behind. However, on occasions when these figures are rendered in stone, this idea is turned on its head. 

In this exhibit, figures and objects rendered in stone from regions all across West Africa are presented along with the akwanshi stone, speaking to the significance as the material within these objects.

On display from August 16, 2019–July 27, 2020. noma.org.