MAKING HIST O R Y - The Wheatbaker...MAKING HIST O R Y Supported by: Beaded cape of Sango priest,...

The Femi Akinsanya African Art Collection in collaboration with the Collectors’ Series II

M A K I N G H I S T O R Y

Supported by:

www.akinsanyaartcollection.com

Beaded cape of Sango priest, Yoruba peoples (Irawo), Nigeria, 20th Century, Glass beads, cloth, embroidery

The public book presentation of:

January 26 - February 1, 2012

Lagos, Nigeria

M A K I N G H I S T O R YAfrican Collectors and

the Canon of African Art

by

Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, Ph.DAssociate Professor of Art History

University of California, Santa Barbara

and

of selected artworks from the

Femi Akinsanya African Art Collection

(FAAAC)

A Commemorative Salon Exhibition

Cover image: Afo Hunter’s Crest Mask, based on cover design by 5 Continents Editions, Milan

Photography by Kelechi Amadi-Obi

at

the Wheatbaker

Anthropomorphic trumpets, Tigon peoples (Tiduri, Adamawa), Nigeria, 20th Century, Wood, pigments

1

Programme

Prof. Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie

University of California Santa Barbara, USA

January 2012.

Welcome to the launch of Making History, which uses the Femi Akinsanya African Art Collection to evaluate the

material process of formalizing and interpreting an African-owned collection of African art. The Akinsanya

Collection includes a large number of African artworks of Yoruba, Igbo, Urhobo, Cross River, Benin and Benue

River Valley origins, all of them major sculpture-producing regions of Nigeria. It also includes sophisticated

examples of bronze and brass sculptures from the late-dynastic and twentieth-century interregnum periods of

the Edo Kingdom of Benin. The canonical artworks in the Akinsanya Collection are significant examples of their

kind and others subvert known archetypes through new and often radical shifts in iconography and symbolism.

Above all, these artworks are unique objects that provide a broad overview of a new class of African art collectors

who constitute an important link between their ancestral heritage and contemporary transformations of

indigenous art in the African contexts of their original production and use.

It is not often the case that a scholar gets a chance to work on projects that have a truly significant impact on

one's field of knowledge. The publication of Making History represents such a contribution mainly because it

presents a rare critical analysis of the practice of African art collecting from the viewpoint of an African collection

based on the continent. When I set out to collaborate with Mr. Akinsanya on documenting and analyzing his

collection of African art, we were both aware of the immense challenges posed by the project and how much

effort it will require to move from planning to completion. There were indeed many challenges but they were all

surmounted due to the dedication of the collector and the perseverance of the author.

In that regard, I will like to thank Mr. Akinsanya for being a visionary who understands the importance of

preserving important Nigerian cultural patrimony through an art collection and that a collection is much more

than simply the agglomeration of numerous objects. Making History narrates in detail the critical issues involved

in professionalizing an African art collection and charts how this process, properly applied, can impact the

perception and reception of the collection in global discourses of art history.

I hope that the publication of this book and the art exhibition that accompanies its launch expands awareness in

Nigeria of the importance of professionalizing the art collections' management process, which is still in its

infancy despite the large and growing number of Nigerian collectors who collect different aspects of traditional

and modern Nigerian art. I will like to thank everyone for attending this event and hope you all enjoy the book

and exhibition.

MAKING HISTORY:

The Femi Akinsanya African Art Collection

23

Welcome by Mrs. Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, Founder, the Collectors’ Series

Remarks by Author & Exhibition Curator, Prof. Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie,

Associate Professor of Art History, University of California Santa Barbara, USA

Review of book by Mr. Mayo Adediran

retired Director of Museums, National Commission for Museums and Monuments;

Director of RAA Global Heritage Resource and President of International

Council of African Museums (AFRICOM)

Remarks by Photographer, Mr. Kelechi Amadi-Obi, CEO, Kelechi Amadi-Obi

Studios and Publisher of Mania Magazine

Remarks and Formal Launch of book by His Royal Highness, Igwe Nnaemeka

Achebe (Agbogidi), the Obi of Onitsha

Comments from the Audience

Vote of Thanks by Mr. Olufemi Akinsanya, of the Femi Akinsanya African Art

Collection

Telling Our Story

Female court attendant, Edoid (collected from Owo), 19th-20th Century, Bronze

THE COLLECTOR

Olufemi Abiodun Akinsanya was born in Ibadan on December 13, 1954 and spent the first ten years of his life in

Ibadan in Western Nigeria, where he was mostly raised by his maternal grandmother, who nurtured his interest

in the arts from childhood by exposing him to books and various aspects of Nigerian and colonial culture in

general. He was educated at Mayflower School, Ikenne, Methodist Boys High School, Lagos, the University of

Lagos (B.Sc. Economics, 1976) and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (MBA, 1979). He had his professional

Accountancy training with Arthur Andersen and is an Associate and Merit Award Winner (1983) of the Institute

of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He left Arthur Andersen in December 1983 and subsequently began a

career in merchant and investment banking with First City Merchant Bank (FCMB) early in 1985. An Associate of

the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and licensed dealer of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, he was Head of

Corporate Finance at FCMB and rose to the position of General Manager before leaving the bank at the end of

September 1993 to run his own boutique investment banking firm, Hamilton Hammer & Co. Ltd., and its fully

owned subsidiary, United Securities Limited.

Akinsanya is one of the founders of the Nigerian Economic Summit movement and has been actively involved in

processes aimed at modernising the securities market and the establishment of investment banking profession

in Nigeria. In 2008, he completed the simultaneous successful sales of both his business entities, United

Securities and Hamilton Hammer. Now semi-retired, he is developing a new investment banking practise

operating as a freelance financial advisor and strategic private equity investor exploring new business ideas with

younger Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Akinsanya was for many years, Honorary Secretary to both the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors of

the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) and was very active in planning the society's annual Festival of the Arts –

the MUSON Festival. He is an avid art collector and music lover.

THE BOOK PROJECT

A key personal objective for embarking on the book project was a sincere desire to ascertain, based on rigorous

and critical investigation of my collection, my conviction that valuable traditional artworks of the highest quality

yet exist in Africa and Nigeria.

Prof. Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie has extensively analysed, in Making History, reasons I adduced for

embarking with him on the book project. I hope the book inspires and challenges Africans and peoples of African

descent in general to celebrate the high artistic achievement of our ancestors and is so doing, reflect on the high

level of sophistication, creative imagination and skill evident in artworks created by Africans from the ancient

past to the contemporary era. Such reflection will, I hope, inspire all African peoples everywhere to realise that

the proud legacies of our ancestors, evident in their extraordinary artistic legacy, indicates that we were

probably always meant to aspire to higher standards and ambitions, to be a proud and progressive people.

I therefore hope that readers of Making History may behold, as I do with pride and gratitude, the sheer beauty,

majesty and brilliance of traditional African arts, and perceive the imagination, innovativeness, and great

technical and artistic skills that went into making these artworks. More importantly, I hope the book encourages

greater involvement by Africans in collection of outstanding examples of indigenous African art so that future

generations can have the change to engage these artworks in the African contexts of their production.

Olufemi A Akinsanya

Lagos, January 2012.

4 5

Celebrating Our Collectors

Acknowledgements

Edan Ogboni (male/female pair), Yoruba peoples (Ijebu-Igbo), Nigeria. 20th Century, Bronze

Nigeria’s art collectors are making giant strides. This book launch is truly about Making History, as we

celebrate Femi Akinsanya’s painstaking, multi-year project focused on cataloging and presenting the most

exceptional pieces of his world class African art collection in collaboration with international scholar and

curator, Professor Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, and acclaimed African art publisher--5 Continents

Editions, Milan, with world-class photographs of artworks from the collection provided by Kelechi Amadi-

Obi.

Stepping into Femi Akinsanya’s world is inspirational and moving. His museum quality treasures are

displayed and showcased with excellent taste and meticulous care alongside superb examples of modern

and contemporary Nigerian art. In his elegant and utterly self-effacing way, Femi has become an art expert in

his own right, with a deep knowledge of the historical and cultural significance of his unique artworks whose

origins span several hundred years. His keen understanding of traditional African art propels his

commitment to documenting these unique treasures for future generations.

It is an incredible honor for the Collectors Series to collaborate with the Femi Akinsanya African Art

Collection on the launch of Making History and to celebrate an outstanding international collector of African

art who is proudly Nigerian. We are delighted that the book launch is being complemented by an exhibition

of selected pieces from this outstanding African art collection.

And this is what the Collectors' Series is all about: inspiring art lovers, celebrating art collectors and their

projects & passions, showcasing world class documentation of important African art in local and

international exhibitions, and strengthening Nigerian artists to explore and express their amazing

creativity!

We hope you enjoy Making History!

Sandra Mbanefo Obiago

Founder, The Collectors' Series

6 7

Special Thanks to: Toyin Akinosho, African Artists Foundation, Art House Contemporary,

Bogobiri, Centre for Contemporary Art, Ms. Ndidi Dike, Mrs. Francesca Emanuel, The Ford Foundation,

Goethe Institut, Mr. Simon Grindrod, Mr. Nduka Irabor, Jazz Hole, Mydrim Art Gallery, Nigerian Field

Society, Nigerwives, Nike Art Gallery, Mr. Joe Obiago, Chief (Mrs) Aino Oni-Okpaku, Quintessence, Terra

Kulture, Mr. Simon Uchenunu, the Wheatbaker.

Exhibition Curator: Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie

Editorial & Artistic Direction: Sandra Mbanefo Obiago

Design & Layout: ‘Yinka Akingbade

Photography: Kelechi Amadi-Obi

Print: Planet Press

1. Crest mask (Oglinye)

Idoma peoples, Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, pigments, leather strips, plant fiber

17 x 6 1/4 x 6 in.

(43.2 x 15.9 x 15.2 cm)

FAk 2009.190

Acquired from art dealer Tony Nnamdi

2. Crest mask

Afo peoples, Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, Abrus seeds, pigments

13 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 10 1/2 in.

(33.5 x 19.1 x 26.7 cm)

FAk 2009.53

Acquired from art dealer John Ada Igoh

3. Head of an Oba

Edoid (Benin)

20th Century

Bronze

11 x 6 3/4 x 7 in.

(27.9 x 17.1 x 17.8 cm)

FAk 2009.45

Acquired from art dealer Marufu Olalere

4. Female court attendant

Edoid (collected from Owo)

19th-20th Century

Bronze

33 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.

(85.09 x 16.51 x 16.51 cm)

FAk 2009.33


5. Edan Ogboni (male/female pair)

Yoruba peoples (Ijebu-Igbo), Nigeria

20th Century

Bronze

24 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 8 3/4 in.

(62.2 x 19.1 x 22.2 cm)

FAk 2009.10


6. Epa mask

Arowogun (Areogun) of Osi Ilorin

Yoruba peoples (Osi), Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, pigments

55 x 18 1/2 x 20 in.

FAk 2009.3

IR-S dating 1920 +/- 8 years


7. Mask

Ibibio peoples (Oron), Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, pigments, fiber

27 x 15 3/4 x 10 in.

(68.6 x 40 x 25.4 cm)

FAk 2009.18



8. Anthropomorphic trumpets

Tigon peoples (Tiduri, Adamawa), Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, pigments

Left: 21 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 in.

(55.2 x 14.6 x 14.6 cm)

FAk 2009.313

Center: 33 1/2 x 6 3/4 x 7 3/4 in.

(85.1 x 17.1 x 19.7 cm)

FAk 2009.412

Right: 18 1/4 x 5 x 4 3/4 in.

(46.4 x 12.7 x 12.1 cm)

FAk 2009.355

Acquired separately from art dealers (L-C-R):

John Ada Igoh, Suleiman Salisu, Haruna Awolu

9. Calabash mask (Nkporo Ada)

Igbo peoples (Ada/Afikpo), Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, pigments, fiber, leaves

36 3/4 x 10 1/2 x 5 1/4 in.

(93.3 x 26.7 x 13.3 cm)

FAk 2009.497

Acquired from art dealer George Uwechue

10. Beaded cape of Sango priest

Yoruba peoples (Irawo), Nigeria

20th Century

Glass beads, cloth, embroidery

42 1/4 x 25 x 1.5 in.

(107.3 x 63.5 x 3.8 cm)

List of artworksFAk 2009.320

Acquired from art dealer

Theophilus Adedoja

11. Maternity figure

Gwandara peoples, Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, fiber, ivory beads, old British-West Africa

one-penny coin, leather strips

24 1/2 x 8.5 x 9 in.

(62.2 x 21.6 x 22.9 cm)

FAk 2009.35

Acquired from art dealer Aminu Yahaya Shaba

12. Equestrian ensemble with two riders

Edoid (Benin)

c. 19th-20th Century

Bronze

17 x 5 1/2 x 15 1/2 in.

(43.2 x 14 x 39.4 cm)

FAk 2009.12


13. Commemorative head (Uhunmwun Elao)

Edo Kingdom of Benin

20th Century

Wood, brass

14 3/4 x 11 x 8 1/2 in.

(37.5 x 27.9 x 21.6 cm)

FAk 2009.32


Acquired from art dealer John Oligo

14. Skin-covered mask

Ibibio peoples (Akwa-Ibom), Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, leather

16 1/4 x 22 1/4 x 25 1/2 in.

(41.3 x 56.5 x 64.8 cm)

FAk 2009.275

Acquired from art dealer Prince Samuel Okpanachi

15. Maiden spirit mask (Ojongo/Agbogho Mmo)

Igbo peoples (Anambra), Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, cloth, pigments

19 x 8 1/2 x 12 1/4 in.

(48.3 x 21.6 x 31.1 cm)

FAk 2009.209

Acquired from art dealer Emmanuel Osayi

16. Receptacle in the shape of rooster (Agere

Ifa)

Yoruba peoples (Abeokuta), Nigeria

20th Century

Wood

15 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 15 in.

(39.4 x 15.9 x 38.1 cm)

FAk 2009.371


George Uwechue

17. Kneeling female figure with attendants

(Olumeye/Agere Ifa)

Yoruba peoples (Ikere-Ekiti), Nigeria

20th Century

Wood

26 3/4 x 15 x 18 1/2 in.

( 67.9 x 38.1 x 47 cm)

FAk 2009.19



Theophilus Adedoja

18. Ivri

Urhobo peoples, Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, pigments

41 3/4 x 12 x 12 1/2 in.

(106 x 30.5 x 31.8 cm)

FAk 2009.8

Acquired from art dealer Olusegun Ilemoboye

19. Vertical mask (Yoke)

Mumuye peoples, Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, pigments

47 x 13 x 13 in.

(119.4 x 33 x 33 cm)

FAk 2009.41

Acquired from art dealer George Uwechue

20. Mask

Igala peoples, Nigeria

20th Century

Wood, pigments, basketry, abrus seeds

21 x 15 1/2 x 19 in.

(53.3 x 39.4 x 48.3 cm)

FAk 2009.390

Acquired from art dealer Tony Nnamdi

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