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Building on the Banks of the Niger River
This monochrome lantern slide, taken between 1886 and 1895 by Dr. William Henry Crosse, depicts a single-story building on the banks of the Niger River in Nigeria. The structure features a pitched gable roof with an organic covering and an elongated front porch supported by decorative wooden latticed elements. Tall vegetation and a calm body of water occupy the foreground, while rolling hills and distant structures are visible in the background. The photograph was part of a series documenting the …
Thatched Dwelling and Group of Individuals
A photograph depicting a single-story dwelling with a steeply pitched thatched roof and light-colored walls. The structure features a veranda area with a low perimeter wall and several dark rectangular openings. To the right, a group of approximately five individuals wearing light-colored tunics and hats stands near a tall, slender vertical pole. The environmental context includes a tall, slender tree in the left foreground and a broad canopy tree behind the building. This monochrome image is a glass negative halfplate …
Man in Embroidered Beadwork Canvas Costume and Mask
A monochrome, full-length photographic portrait of a man standing in a frontal, upright posture. The subject is wearing an elaborate, form-fitting suit that covers the torso, arms, and legs, featuring a high-density pattern of geometric and organic motifs, including concentric circles and cross-shaped motifs. The garment's thoracic region includes two hemispherical forms to mimic female mammary anatomy. The subject wears a light-colored mask that covers the face and a dark-toned hood that obscures the hair and neck. The figure stands …
Alose Shrine Figure
This black-and-white photograph by G.I. Jones documents an Alose shrine in south-eastern Nigeria. The wooden figure stands inside a thatched structure, wearing a striped hat with feather and white facial paint. The deity holds objects in both hands among carved pots and stools. The sculpture represents spiritual forces significant in Igbo religious practice.
Agbogho Mmo Maiden Spirit Mask
A photograph depicting an anthropomorphic mask, identified as an Abogho Mmo (maiden spirit) mask. The mask is characterized by an elongated, ovoid silhouette with a pointed peak and bilateral symmetry. It features a light-valued base, likely white pigment, with dark, high-contrast markings including symmetrical arcs and geometric diamond motifs on the cranial region. The ocular region consists of two almond-shaped apertures with downward-sweeping lines, and the mouth is a wide, horizontal oval containing a row of light-valued rectangular shapes simulating …
European Men and African Man at a Royal Niger Company Encampment
A photograph depicting a group of eight men at a temporary encampment. Seven light-skinned men are positioned standing and seated, wearing utilitarian warm-weather attire including pith helmets, boater hats, and white tunics. A dark-skinned man in a light-colored jacket and structured cap stands at attention on the left. The setting includes a large A-frame canvas tent, a thatched structure, and woven perimeter fences against a backdrop of a sloping, vegetated hill. The image is part of the Crosse Collection, associated …
Portrait of a Woman in Striped Cloth
A photograph depicting a woman seated on a low, curved wooden stool, posing for the camera. She wears a fabric wrap or turban with a geometric pattern and a large piece of textile with wide, dark, horizontal stripes wrapped around her chest and lower body. A singular, light-colored circular ring or torque is positioned around the base of her neck. The subject is situated outdoors against a background of dense, blurred vegetation and is seated on a light-colored, granular surface. …
Igbo Adult Males Performing Masquerade
A black-and-white gelatin silver print depicting a group of Igbo adult males engaged in a ceremonial performance in an outdoor setting. One figure on the left wears an elaborate mask featuring cloth streamers and trousers with rattles tied around the knees. Other participants are dressed in loincloths, with some holding palm leaves. The background shows a crowd of onlookers. The scene is characterized by high-contrast natural lighting with dappled shadows on the ground, suggesting the event took place under a …
Rural Scene with Igbo Masquerades
A black-and-white gelatin silver print depicting a rural scene with two adult Igbo males dressed in masquerade costumes. The figures wear shaggy costumes and painted wooden masks featuring large horns, with one mask also exhibiting large teeth. The image was identified as originating from the Niger Delta region, with ethnic group and location suggestions provided by N F Barley in 1998.
An Igbo couple from Asaba
This studio portrait from around 1900 depicts an Asaba man in riding gear or English recreational dress posing with his wife, illustrating the blend of traditional and colonial influences in Asaba. Asaba was a site of resistance to European invasion by the Igbo in the early 19th century, where British explorers Richard and John Lander were taken captive in 1830 during their expedition to trace the course of the Niger River. Later, Asaba became a trading post and administrative headquarters …
Iro Ekpetu of the Ogbugulu Mau Masquerade
This photograph by G.I. Jones documents the Ogbugulu Mau masquerade in Amuda village, featuring Iro Ekpetu ('Merciless'). The masquerader wears a black carved mask with white painted eyes and protruding teeth, a raffia hairpiece and skirt, and cloth top and trousers. The performance, held during the dry season usually in December, involved eight masked characters accompanied by two bands and a chorus of young men. Jones noted that these masks threatened the crowd with wands or sticks while wearing loose …
Obugulu Mau Masqueraders at Amobia Village
This colour transparency from the Jones Collection shows Obugulu Mau masqueraders seated in Amobia village, Nri Awka, Onitsha province. The masqueraders wear white face masks with black markings around the eyes, nose, and mouth, accentuating the eyebrows and cheeks. Their elaborate headdresses consist of colourful felt, string, and tassels. They are dressed in harlequin-like costumes. Spectators and trees are visible in the background. The photograph was taken by G.I. Jones, a British colonial administrator and ethnographer who documented Igbo culture …
Portable Household Shrine, North Ika
A monochromatic photograph depicting a portable household shrine from North Ika. The assemblage features a central anthropomorphic wooden carving with stylized facial elements, a torso, and horizontal lines suggesting arms, flanked by two weathered wooden slabs. To the right is a composite structure of two vertical wooden pieces secured by a dark circular band. These elements are positioned atop a conical mound of compacted earth, clay, or mud, which rests on a flat, rectangular wooden platform.
Portrait of a Woman Seated on a Bentwood Chair
A monochrome photograph of a seated woman posing in an outdoor setting. The subject is bare-chested and wears a white cotton wrap-style waist cloth. Her adornments include a narrow necklace, bracelets on both wrists, a ring on her right hand, and bands with white fibrous attachments around her ankles. Repetitive patterned markings, consistent with scarification, are visible on her abdomen. She is seated on a bentwood-style chair on a dirt surface with dense vegetation in the background.
Group Portrait from Royal Niger Company
A photograph depicting approximately 13 individuals standing in a horizontal line before a long, low-profile building. The structure features a steeply pitched gabled roof made of thatch or plant fibers and walls constructed from vertical organic elements such as reeds or wooden poles. The subjects exhibit a variety of clothing, including traditional wrapped textiles with geometric or organic motifs, and Western-influenced attire such as button-down shirts, shorts, and trousers. The setting is characterized by a flat, unpaved earth surface and …
Igbo Dancer Performing Agaba Masquerade
A photograph depicting an Igbo dancer in Okitipupa, Ondo Province, performing the Agaba masquerade. The central figure wears a dark, matte-textured mask with wide, recessed eyes and an open mouth revealing white, rectangular teeth. The headdress features two large, curved horns and carved humanoid figures, with organic stalks extending vertically. The performer's torso is covered in a garment of overlapping light-toned, disc-shaped objects. Four men in mid-century attire are positioned around the dancer, observing the performance. This image was published …
River Steamer on the Niger River
A photograph depicting a small, low-profile motorized river steamer, possibly a mission boat, navigating a wide, calm body of water. The vessel features a central vertical smokestack, a light-colored cabin toward the bow, and a thin vertical mast. In the right foreground, a man stands on a vegetated riverbank, serving as a lookout. The background shows a continuous line of dense forest along the distant shoreline. The image is a black-and-white lantern slide from the Crosse Collection, documenting the activities …
Ogbugulu Mau (Ghost) Masquerade: Iro Ekpetu (Merciless)
A close up view of Iro Ekpetu (Merciless) wearing a black wooden face mask during an Ogbugulu Mau (Ghost) masquerade. The forehead is incised with decoration, the eyes consist of two small holes accentuated with white paint, and the mouth and teeth are also accentuated with white paint. Raffia hair is attached to the back of the mask, and a protrusion is visible on the head. The masquerader wears a cloth top and holds a stick switch. In the background, …
Pot believed to hold the personal spirit (chi)
This decorated pot, known as Ihu Chi, from Ekpeye in 1916, is believed to hold an individual's personal spirit or chi, a central concept in Igbo cosmology often translated as guardian angel or spirit-double. In Igbo belief, chi is a fractal of the supreme creator, Chineke or Chukwu, influencing personal destiny and authenticity.
Eze Nri Obalike with his attendants and Chiefs at Enugwu-Ukwu
This photograph, taken by Northcote Thomas in 1911, shows Eze Nri Obalike, who ruled from around 1889 to 1926, surrounded by his attendants and chiefs at the Nkwọ Marketplace in Enugwu-Ukwu. Under the watchful eyes of British colonial officers, Obalike was forced, reportedly at gunpoint, to denounce nso and alu, traditional codes of taboo and abomination that underpinned Nri authority. This event marked the decline of the Nri hegemony and the end of its ritual control over Igbo communities.
Group Portrait at a Royal Niger Company Station
A photograph depicting a group of individuals positioned in front of a long, single-story rectangular building and a high masonry perimeter wall. Several subjects wearing light-colored, simple garments are seated or crouching on the unpaved foreground, while others stand near a vertical-slatted wooden gate. One individual on the right is dressed in more structured clothing, suggestive of a jacket. The background is dominated by a dense canopy of trees on a sloping hill under a light-toned sky. The image was …
Steam Vessel Anchored on the Niger River
A photograph depicting a single-masted, steam-powered vessel moored parallel to an earthen riverbank along the Niger River. The vessel features a vertical smokestack emitting a plume of white smoke, a central multi-level superstructure with railings, and a tall mast with rigging lines. On the sloping bank, a group of approximately five to six men wearing minimal clothing, primarily light-colored wraps or loincloths, are engaged in manual labor near the water's edge. The image is part of the Crosse Collection, taken …
Ohaffia Masquerader Performing in Okwanku Masquerade, Akanu Village
Black-and-white photograph by G.I. Jones showing a masked Ohaffia performer in the Okwanku masquerade at Akanu village. The figure wears a wooden face mask with white pigment, high forehead, slit eyes, long nose and mouth, surmounted by a hat, with long raffia hair hanging down. The performer plays a horned instrument while spectators watch in the background. Jones recorded that Okwanku masquerade characters performed comic dramas, including one in which the Dibia (Doctor) character poisoned and revived the Rain Driver. …
Portrait of Two Women
A photograph depicting two women in an outdoor setting. One woman is seated on a wooden chair, wearing a striped head scarf, a shawl, and a striped cloth. A second woman stands beside her with an arm placed on the seated woman's shoulder, wearing a head scarf and a printed wrapper. The background consists of a fence made of wooden poles or reeds and blurred vegetation. The image was captured by William Henry Crosse between 1886 and 1895 as part …
Ogbugulu Mau Masquerade, Amuda Village
Black-and-white photograph of the Ogbugulu Mau (Ghost) masquerade performed in Amuda village, near Awka, Onitsha Province, South Eastern Nigeria. The image shows four masqueraders and their attendant. From left, Iro Ekpetu (Merciless) wears a black fierce face mask with white painted eyes and protruding teeth, cloth top and tights, and a raffia skirt. Eju Ono (Long Mouth) wears an animal-like mask painted black with white markings and horns, cloth top and tights, and a raffia skirt, holding two sticks. A …
Onu Kamma Masqueraders at Nimo
Black-and-white photograph showing three Onu Kamma (Mouth stronger than sword) masqueraders at Nimo, Nri Awka, Onitsha province. Each figure wears a large conical faceless mask constructed from layered fibre with a cloth panel at the front. Their attire includes tie-dyed or batik upper garments, striped woven cloth trousers, and fibre skirts secured at the waist; cowrie shells are visible on the rightmost performer. Two masqueraders hold metal gongs, one striking his with a stick. A sizable crowd of bystanders observes …
Mask Maker in Workshop with Fish Mask
A photograph depicting a male mask maker in his workshop, holding a completed wooden mask representing a fish. The subject is seated on the ground, wearing a light-colored sleeveless garment, and is surrounded by wood shavings. The image, taken circa 1935, was provided by G. I. Jones to the Pitt Rivers Museum.
Ojo Onu Masquerade in Amuda Village
A photograph depicting a close up portrait of the Ojo (Eju) Onu (Long Mouth) masquerade character, part of the Obugulu Mau (Ghost) masquerade. The subject wears a carved and painted wooden head mask with two horns, eyes, nose, ears, and a protruding snout with teeth. The mask is painted with dark pigment and adorned with pale spots and lines. The costume includes a woven cloth that covers the upper half of the wearer. The background shows grasses, huts, and trees, …
Royal Niger Company Constabulary Band
A monochromatic photograph showing a musical ensemble from the Royal Niger Company Constabulary on a maritime vessel. The group consists of approximately eleven Black men in military-style tunics and garrison side caps, playing woodwind and brass instruments and a snare drum. On the lower deck, a mixed group of individuals, including two light-skinned males in wide-brimmed hats and other men, are observing. The vessel features a protective canopy and a suspended bell. This image belongs to a series documented by …
Royal Niger Company Steam Vessel on the Niger River
A photograph depicting a medium-sized transport vessel with hybrid steam and sail propulsion anchored along a riverbank on the Niger River. The vessel features a single mast and a mid-aft smokestack emitting steam. The upper deck is heavily laden with rectangular bundles of cargo. Approximately 8 to 12 individuals in utilitarian clothing are visible on the main deck. The surrounding environment consists of a sloping riverbank with low vegetation and a background of dense tropical forest.
Portrait of a Woman with Neck Markings
A monochromatic photograph depicting a woman in profile from the chest upward. The subject wears a voluminous floral textile headwrap and a vertically striped cloth draped over her left shoulder. Visible adornments include a thin dark cord necklace and multiple thin, light-toned horizontal parallel bands around the mid-neck. The image is a close-up portrait with a shallow depth of field, showing blurred foliage in the background. The photograph was taken by William Henry Crosse, Principal Medical Officer of the Royal …
Igbo Man at Masquerade Event
This black-and-white photograph from the Jones Collection shows a bare-chested man photographed from behind during a masquerade event. He wears a cloth headband with a feather tucked into the front, woven materials around his waist and legs, and a narrow band of material, possibly leather, over his right shoulder to his left waist. The image forms part of G.I. Jones's documentation of Igbo and South Ikwerri cultural practices between 1932 and 1938.
Ngbangba Ikoro Masquerade at Abiriba
This black-and-white photograph by G.I. Jones shows the Ngbangba Ikoro masquerade at Abiriba, circa 1930s. The scene depicts performers and spectators outside a traditional thatched building. One figure wears a dark wooden mask painted white with horns, attached to woven sackcloth. A young boy touches this character. Another rounded mask with white bulbous eyes appears upside down. The audience includes women, men, and children wearing printed cloths. Jones documented that Abiriba carvers created masks for this masquerade, with copyright shared …
Dancer Wearing Fish Mask
A photograph depicting a dancer wearing a ceremonial mask representing a fish. The apparatus is an elongated, tapered horizontal structure with a crest-like form, featuring small, stylized facial motifs and light-colored decorative accents. A rectangular textile banner with a central four-pointed motif is mounted atop the structure. The dancer and other participants wear wrap-around garments with dense, repetitive geometric patterns of interlocking squares and diamonds. The scene is set outdoors in a tropical environment with dense vegetation and a crowd …
Temporary Wooden Bridge over the Imo River
A photograph depicting a temporary trestle-style bridge constructed from native, locally grown timber spanning the Imo River. This structure was part of the Eastern Division railway line, built starting in 1913 to facilitate access to the Udi coalfields near Enugwu Ngwo, terminating at the Diobu cliffs of Port Harcourt. The image shows vertical pilings and diagonal cross-bracing supporting the bridge deck. A dense tropical forest canopy is visible in the background. The construction of this railway involved forced labor coordinated …
Questionnaire on Dolls
A two-page printed questionnaire from 1906 created by Northcote Thomas, M.A., for publication in the journal Man. The document is a formal inquiry into the cultural significance and use of dolls, categorized by thematic inquiries into physical description, biological mimicry (such as feeding and sleeping), mortality and trauma (including disease and burial ceremonies), social and emotional dynamics, and ritual or supernatural uses. It features an institutional stamp from the Anthropological Institute in London and was printed by Eyre and Spottiswoode. …
Figure in an Ancestral Shrine, North Ika
A photograph depicting a carved humanoid figure situated within an ancestral shrine in North Ika. The figure is shown in a kneeling or seated posture, oriented in profile, with an elaborate, high-reaching headdress featuring vertical striations and conical protrusions. The figure's right hand grasps a flat, circular disc, and its neck is adorned with a collar of small, oval-shaped objects. The carving is positioned against a coarse, layered background surface and is secured with thin, dark filaments around the lower …
Landscape of the Niger River near Asaba
A monochrome landscape photograph taken between 1886 and 1895 by William Henry Crosse, Principal Medical Officer of the Royal Niger Company. The image depicts a large, calm body of water in the foreground with a prominent, vegetated hill centered in the background, creating a symmetrical reflection on the water's surface. The composition is a wide-angle view with a high-key sky and diffuse lighting. The photograph is a lantern slide, identified by archival markings including the alphanumeric code LS.82550 and a …
Feathered Headdress Ogonya Play
A photograph depicting a feathered headdress used in the Ogonya Play in Ogume village, South Ika. The image shows a vertical ornamental structure with a dark central axis and radiating light-toned, blade-like feathers. An arm clad in patterned fabric holds the object aloft. In the background, a group of young males with bare torsos are positioned among dense tropical vegetation, including palm trees. The high-contrast monochrome composition emphasizes the verticality of the headdress and the surrounding flora.
Heavy Wood Door from Nri Awka
This heavy wooden door from the Nri-Awka region, known as ḿgbó èzí, is an example of traditional Igbo wood carving from the 19th-20th century. Carved from sacred hardwood like iroko with symbolic motifs and patterns, such doors served as entrances to compounds of influential families, conveying stories, status, and spiritual beliefs.
Two Ikenga Figures from Nri Awka Igbo
Two wooden Ikenga figures. The figure on the left is seated on a stool and is holding a staff in one hand and another object in the other. The figure has a stylised human face painted white with black markings accentuating the eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth, the two horns are curled. The figure is sitting and around the neck are coiled rings, the torso is painted white and black and he is wearing a painted ruffled tunic, there are …
Uxurhe Staffs
A monochrome photograph depicting a collection of approximately eight carved wooden vertical shafts, identified as Uxurhe staffs. The shafts are slender and cylindrical, featuring relief carvings of anthropomorphic figures, including large-scale carved heads at the terminals and smaller human forms interspersed along the length. Decorative elements include horizontal bands, circumferential rings, and textural patterns such as chevrons and cross-hatching. The objects are shown leaning against a coarse, textured wall, with a strong light source from the left creating high-contrast shadows …
Carved Wooden Ceremonial Board Staff
A photograph depicting a carved wooden figure, possibly a ceremonial board staff, featuring a multi-register relief carving. The structure consists of a base board decorated with various faces, bodies, and geometric shapes. From the top of the board project four short poles, each terminating in a stylized human head with distinct decorative coiffures. The lower register features a prominent central face with a patterned forehead, flanked by smaller humanoid forms and patterned columns. The work is characterized by manual subtractive …
Burning of a Village along the Niger River
A monochrome photograph depicting the burning of a village as seen from the river, likely the result of a punitive expedition. The image shows multiple points of intense combustion among traditional architectural structures with pitched rooflines along the shoreline. Smoke and haze obscure the background sky, while vertical light streaks from the fires are reflected on the calm surface of the water. This image is part of the Crosse Collection, documented as being taken between 1886 and 1895 by William …
Landscape of an Escarpment Area along the Niger River
A monochromatic photograph from the late 19th century depicting a landscape view of an escarpment area along the Niger River. The foreground consists of dense, low-lying shrubbery and grasses on sloping terrain. In the midground, a cluster of vernacular structures with steeply pitched conical thatched roofs is situated, featuring a single light-toned flag positioned near the primary buildings. The background is dominated by a prominent, elongated forested ridge spanning the horizon under a hazy sky. The image was captured by …
Mural Building at Okwu
A monochromatic photograph depicting a long, single-story building with a flat roof and a colonnade of vertical support columns. The wall behind the columns features large-scale graphic murals showing repetitive, stylized silhouettes of human figures in dynamic and rhythmic poses. A group of approximately 25 to 35 individuals, including adults and children in varied attire such as light-colored wraps and Western-style shirts and trousers, is gathered in the cleared earthen foreground. The scene is set against a backdrop of dense …
Landscape with Buildings and Trees along the Niger River
A photograph depicting a landscape with a large, mature deciduous tree as the central focal point, featuring a dense canopy and complex branching. The mid-ground shows a series of buildings and trees, while the foreground consists of a flat expanse of low-lying vegetation. The image, taken as a glass negative halfplate, shows significant signs of historical aging, including particulate matter, chemical staining, and fine linear scratches. This record is part of the Crosse Collection and was taken during William Henry …
Igbo Woman with Elaborate Geometric Hairstyle
This photograph, taken by Northcote Thomas around 1910 as part of his anthropological documentation, features an Igbo woman with an elaborate geometric hairstyle. In Igbo culture, hairstyles often signified age, social status, and marital status, offering insight into personal adornment practices in early 20th-century Igbo society.
Northcote Thomas Collection: Awgbu Artifacts
A monochromatic photograph documenting a collection of objects acquired by Northcote Thomas in Awgbu (present-day Anambra State, Nigeria) in 1911. The items are arranged in a horizontal line against a light-colored fabric backdrop in an outdoor setting, with a person partially visible on the left holding the backdrop. The arrangement includes a tall wooden Ngene alusi figure, two cylindrical drums with vertical slits, a staff with a knobbed top, an oval shield-like object, a woven cone, a rolled mat, and …
Ikem Masquerade Play in Umuahia
A black-and-white photograph depicting an Ikem masquerade play. The central figure is a masquerader wearing an Anang carved female face mask featuring naturalistic human features, dark eyebrows, a fine nose, and marks on the cheeks, topped with an elaborate black coiffure in large plaits. The mask is mounted over a square frame covered in printed cloth, and the masquerader wears a striped wrapper. The figure holds an umbrella in one hand and a handkerchief in the other. To the side …
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