Portrait of an Igbo Man with Ichi Markings
A monochromatic photographic portrait of an Igbo man presented in a three-quarter profile view. The subject exhibits raised, hypertrophic ridges of Ichi scarification on the cheek, temple, and lateral forehead. His hair is plaited with small, vertical, cylindrical tufts on the crown of the head. The image is a gelatin silver print, set against a blurred natural background of vegetation. The portrait captures the dermal modifications and cranial styling typical of Igbo nobility during the late 19th to early 20th century.
Community Notes
Onyeka Nwokike
Oct 09, 2026
According to the British Museum, this photograph (Museum Number Af,B54.22) was produced by J Stöcker and acquired by the institution in 1939. Archival notes indicate that the identity of the previous owner is uncertain, though they may have also been the photographer.
Onyeka Nwokike
Oct 09, 2026
While attributed to J Stöcker, the portrait is often analyzed alongside the ethnographic surveys conducted by Northcote Whitridge Thomas, who served as the British Colonial Office's first Government Anthropologist ([Re:]Entanglements). Thomas's 1911 photographs of a man named Iyiazi in Nri provide a contemporary geographical and temporal baseline for portraits of men with similar Ichi scarification (Ozikoro).
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