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Painted Courthouse Mural at Nri

Image Arts
A monochromatic Uli mural showing stylized human figures and a boat.
Painted courthouse mural at Nri, Onitsha Province. From Nigeria magazine, No. 16, 1938, edited by Edward Harland Duckworth.

A photograph depicting a monochromatic mural on a flat, textured surface, located at a courthouse in Nri, Onitsha Province. The composition features six stylized human figures and a vessel, arranged in a linear progression from left to right. The figures are rendered as dark silhouettes overlaid with high-contrast white geometric patterns, including triangles, diamonds, and stippling, characteristic of the Uli art tradition. A large-scale figure anchors the left side, while a group of smaller figures is positioned within and around a decorated vessel on the right. The mural is bordered at the top by repeating downward-pointing triangular shapes. This image was published in Nigeria magazine, Issue No. 16, 1938, on pages 288 and 289.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 09, 2026

This mural was documented by Edward Harland Duckworth, the founding editor of Nigeria magazine, and published in the magazine's 16th issue in 1938. The image is preserved in the Edward Harland Duckworth collection at the Pitt Rivers Museum under the identity number prm-object-321537.

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 09, 2026

The mural is located at a colonial-era Native Court in Nri, a site recognized as the historical center of the Nri Kingdom and Igbo spiritual authority. The composition features a vessel, a rare motif for Uli wall murals which typically prioritize abstract patterns or fauna. The distinct scaling of the human figures and their placement within a boat suggests this scene may represent a specific local narrative or ceremonial event witnessed.

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