Ibeji, tribal art borne out of tragedy

Manchester artist Geoffrey Key is widely regarded as one of the most important working in the country today. Auctioneers in the region are more used to selling his paintings for thousands of pounds, but now he’s set one of them another task: disposing of the characters pictured here.

He calls them his little army and he’s been collecting them for 25 years or more, but a house move has meant his collection of dozens of antique African carved figures and other tribal art has to go. The exotic and little known corner of tribal art collecting is known as Yoruba art.

The Yoruba are an ancient race of people, today making up one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa, predominantly in Nigeria. Its craftsmen are noted for their artistic traditions of

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