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Northcote Thomas Collection: Awgbu Artifacts

Image Alusi/Arushi
A monochromatic photograph of an arranged collection of Igbo artifacts including a tall Ngene figure and drums against a fabric backdrop.
A photograph by Northcote Thomas or his assistants documenting collections made in Awgbu prior to shipment to the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge, 1911.

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 various small vessels and textiles. Each object is identified by a small white rectangular tag with a numerical digit from 0 to 9, corresponding to Thomas's collection catalogue. The Ngene figure, positioned center-left, features a stylized headpiece and patterned surface detailing on the torso.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 19, 2026

The Ngene alusi figure, which stands 1.25 meters high, was acquired in Awgbu, approximately 11 kilometers south of Awka. This specific sculpture is noted for being less naturalistic than many other examples of alusi figures and features traditional ichi scarification marks on the forehead and carved patterns across the chest and torso, as detailed in Collection notes: Ngene alusi figure - [Re:]Entanglements.

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 19, 2026

This photograph represents a practice during Northcote Thomas's second tour of the Awka District, where he arranged collected items in rows to document them before shipment to the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (then known as the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology) in Cambridge. The collection includes a woven basket known as a nkata, further discussed in Rediscovering Northcote Thomas’s artefact collections - [Re:]Entanglements.

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