Yoruba Ibeji or 'Twins' Figure

The hat is the first thing you notice. A flat-topped cap, banded with fine incised lines, sitting a little formally on the head.

Then the grin. Wide, round eyes and a cheerful mouth, hands tucked at the hips, a carved cloth at the waist. This Yoruba ibeji, from Nigeria, is twentieth century and about nine inches tall, in a deep brown wood on a plain rectangular base.

Yoruba carvers gave twin figures personality in a way few other traditions bothered to. This one has a good deal of it.

Expect it to be the first thing guests ask about.