Object Name: Ovo or ofo
Place of Origin: Nigeria
Cultural Group: Urhobo or Isoko peoples
Materials Used: Bronze
Dimensions: H: 7.5 cm, W: 10 cm, D: 23 cm (H: 2.9 in, W: 3.9 in, D: 9.0 in)
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Peter J. Kuhn. X91.416

This enigmatic form, seemingly spoon-shaped, is actually a replica of the ovo twigs, bundles of which are essential ritual items for all Isoko, Urhobo, and Western Igbo, as well as some Ijo groups. Called ofo among the Igbo and ovuo by many Ijo peoples, these ancestral representations frequently assume elaborate abstract forms. Some have zoomorphic or anthropomorphic features in addition to delicate geometric decoration.

Source: Anderson, Martha G. and Peek, Philip M. ed. (2002): “Ways of the Rivers: Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta”‚ Los Angeles, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 46