Object Name: Head fragment (shembera)
Place of Origin: Ga’anda peoples, Gabun district
Date: Early to mid-20th century
Materials Used: Ceramic
Credit line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Arnold Rubin. X86.4687
Collected by Arnold Rubin, 1970

These small but expressive head fragments are from a shrine located in a rocky citadel called Kanpelam in the Ga’anda Hills, to the east of the Gongola River. They once surmounted vessels that served as repositories of ancestral spirits. The fragments along with fully intact vessels were the focus of annual offerings made to appease the ancestors.

Source: Gallery Wall Text, Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley, 2011