Twin Memorial Figure (Ere Ibéjì)

West African artists have long transformed rare materials associated with wealth and status into beads for necklaces, bracelets, and other forms of personal adornment. This carved wood figure demonstrates how such adornments may have been worn. Yorùbá parents who have lost a child who was a twin may commission an ère ìbéjì and care for the figure—for instance, adorning it with beads—to protect the surviving sibling.