Master of the Owu Shango Shrine

Style 1 : The pointed crown headdress

He is the rarest type of Ibeji and a sort of "Grail" for any Ibeji collector; his very limited corpus of about fifty referenced objects to date makes him the obsession of all Ibeji enthusiasts.

The "Master of the Shango Shrine at Owu" or "Master of the Cult of Shango" refers to a Yoruba Master Sculptor from the Igbomina area. This specific style was popularized and established primarily by Deborah Stokes and Jeffrey Hammer in an article titled The Master of the Owu Shango Shrine, published in 1986 in the journal African Arts (vol. 19, pp. 70-92). According to William Fagg, this sculptor practiced his art between the 1850s and the mid-1920s, and only three styles are known, one of which is extremely rare, with only two known examples to date in publications and databases related to Ibeji. Furthermore, George Chemeche, when publishing his reference work on Ibeji (Ibeji: The Cult of Yoruba Twins), was only able to document the two most widespread styles at that time.

The stylistic characteristics of the Ere Ibeji of the "Master of the Owu Shango Shrine" include a hieratic posture, a strong sculptural presence with a highly distinctive work on the headdress, a rounded belly, and hands placed on the navel for two of the three known styles, as well as a unique stylization of the eyes specific to this Master Sculptor. These various elements illustrate the technical mastery and aesthetic originality of this unique artist in Yorubaland. The Ibeji from the "Master of the Owu Shango Shrine" stand out for their expression of strength and serenity, typical of the stylization of Ibeji and the production associated with Yoruba culture.

Below are the three known styles to date of Ibeji attributed to the "Master of the Cult of Shango" or "Master of the Owu Shango Shrine," as designated by Deborah Stokes and Jeffrey Hammer.

Style 2 : The crown headdress style

Style 3 : The cap headdress style

The 3 styles in profile