Nigerian National Museum Explained

Nigerian National Museum
Established:1957
Location:Onikan, Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria
Collections:Nigerian art, including pieces of statuary and carvings and archaeological and ethnographic exhibits
Founder:Kenneth Murray

The Nigerian National Museum is a national museum of Nigeria, located in the city of Lagos. The museum has a notable collection of Nigerian art, including pieces of statuary, carvings also archaeological and ethnographic exhibits.[1] Of note is a terracotta human head known as the Jemaa Head (c. 900 to 200 BC), part of the Nok culture. The piece is named after Jema'a, the village where it was discovered.[2] [3] [4] [5] The museum is located at Onikan, Lagos Island, Lagos State. The museum is administered by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.[6] [7]

History

In July 1948, the first architectural sketches of the museum were submitted to a conference on museum policy in Nigeria.[8] The museum was founded in 1957 by the English archaeologist Kenneth Murray.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] The main purpose of constructing this museum was to preserve different historical artifacts of Nigeria.[14] [15] Kenneth Murray had collected several traditional masks from Cross River State, these masks were displayed in the museum.[16] [17] [18] During the first decade of the museum's existence, the British Museum gave the Nigerian National Museum two plaques and other artifacts.[19] [20] [21] [22] In 2018, a virtual tour of the museum was added using an adapted version of Google Street View along with other tourist sites in Nigeria.[23]

Collections

The museum houses the collections of artifacts belonging to different cultures of the ethnic groups in Nigeria. The size of the collection is estimated at 47,000 objects,[24] made of different materials such as wood, ivory, metal and terracotta. The artifacts include masks, textiles, drums, dane guns and wooden figures.[25] Among the artifacts, in the Yoruba section, the museum includes Egungun costumes and clay pots.[26] The museum has a collection of statues dating from different periods of Nigeria's history.[27]

The museum also houses traditional musical instruments such as sansas, fiddles and flutes.[28] The museum also contains divination bowls and ancestral figures made of wood, including Mumuye figures, which are used by communities in Adamawa State as well as Ikengas wooden figures, which are part of the Igbo culture. Additionally, the museum also contains a collection of masks including Ekpo masks from Calabar and Gẹlẹdẹ wooden masks.[29] The museum contains jewelry and crafts, as well as a collection of textiles including Akwete cloth and other textiles from the Okene, Bida and Western States areas of Nigeria.[30] The museum has displayed works of art by Nigerian artists such as Nike Davies-Okundaye, Abiodun Olaku, Djakow Kassi, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Bolaji Ogunwo, Yusuf Durodola, Chinze Ojobo,[31] Nosa Iyobhabha, Duke Asidere,[32] Ben Enwonwu, Nathaniel Hodonu, Northcote W. Thomas, Kelani Abass[33] and Elizabeth Ekpetorson.[34] In 2012, the museum presented an exhibition featuring artwork by artist Ndidi Dike.[35] [36] [37] [38] In November 2019, the museum organized an exhibition with art pieces by German-Nigerian artist Ngozi Schommers.[39] [40] [41] The museum contains ancient crowns, Royal regalias, artifacts belonging to the Kingdom of Benin, cultural objects belonging to the Ibibio people, Igbo-Ukwu bronze artifacts, stone monoliths of the Oron culture[42] and terracottas belonging to the Nok culture.[43] [44] [45] The museum also contains photographs of the different presidents of the states of Nigeria.[46] In the textile section, there is a collection of batik fabrics.[47] The museum also has Ere figurines.,[48] photographs on the colonization of Nigeria[33] and exhibits related to the culture of Ifẹ, an ancient Yoruba city.

The museum contains a variety of sculptures. Among these are the grave sculptures of the Dakakari people who inhabit Sokoto State. These types of sculptures are used in graves to commemorate the death of an important person such as a warrior, social leader or a chief. The museum also contains a sculpture of a Sukur woman in traditional dress from Adamawa State. At the entrance of the museum, also with a sculpture of a deity called Chukwu, of Igbo spirituality. The museum also houses stone sculptures of the Ekoi people.[49] The museum also has sculptures of animals that are used in different cultures of the ethnic groups of Nigeria.[50]

In popular culture

In her travel book, Looking for Transwonderland, writer Noo Saro-Wiwa visits the museum and describes its impact on her.[51]

See also

External links

6.4444°N 3.4033°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Nigeria-LIBRARIES-AND-MUSEUMS.html Nations Encyclopedia
  2. Web site: Atwood. Roger. The Nok of Nigeria. Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America. 29 February 2016.
  3. Web site: Nok culture Iron Age culture Britannica . 2022-06-10 . www.britannica.com . en.
  4. The Nok Culture of Central Nigeria . ResearchGate.
  5. Web site: Nigerian National Museum - MoMAA African Modern Online Art Gallery & Lifestyle MoMAA African Modern Online Art Gallery & Lifestyle Nigerian National Museum . 2022-06-10 . MoMAA African Modern Online Art Gallery & Lifestyle . en-GB.
  6. Web site: 2018-02-21. National Museum and challenges to boosting tourism. 2021-10-14. Nigerian Tribune Online. en.
  7. Web site: 2015-09-26 . Iconic Collections For 70th Anniversary Of National Museum In Nigeria . 2022-06-10 . The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News . en-US.
  8. Book: Silverman. Raymond. National Museums in Africa: Identity, History and Politics. Abungu. George. Probst. Peter. 2021-08-30. Routledge. 978-1-000-42864-3. en.
  9. News: History on display at the National Museum. Adio. Segun. 12 February 2011. National Mirror.
  10. Web site: Featured Artist: Benedict (Ben) Chukwukadibia Enwonwu. Robson. Emily. April 2010. University of Chichester. 30 May 2011.
  11. Art preservation for culture heritage . ResearchGate.
  12. Web site: 2016-03-16 . Rehabilitating the National Museum . 2022-06-10 . The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News . en-US.
  13. Web site: IV . Editorial . 2018-02-22 . National Museum and challenges of boosting tourism . 2022-06-10 . Blueprint Newspapers Limited . en-US.
  14. Book: Brusius. Mirjam. Museum Storage and Meaning: Tales from the Crypt. Singh. Kavita. 2017-09-07. Routledge. 978-1-351-65942-0. en.
  15. Web site: 2012-08-15 . Celebrating Nigeria's 90 years of Museum movement . 2022-06-10 . Vanguard News . en-GB.
  16. Nicklin. Keith. 1974. Nigerian Skin-Covered Masks. African Arts. 7. 3. 8–92. 10.2307/3334855. 3334855. 0001-9933.
  17. The Kenneth Murray decade . ResearchGate.
  18. Blier . Suzanne . Africa's Cross River: Art of the Nigerian-Cameroon Border Redefined (1980) .
  19. Web site: 2021-06-09. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments Announce the Return of Three Works of Art to the Nigerian National Collections. 2021-08-31. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  20. Web site: Stoilas. Helen. 2021-06-10. The Met will return three African art objects to Nigeria. 2021-08-31. CNN. en.
  21. Web site: British Museum Sold Benin Bronzes . 2022-06-10 . Forbes . en.
  22. Web site: 2021-06-11 . Nigeria: Metropolitan Museum of Art Returns Three Works of Art to Nigeria . 2022-06-10 . allAfrica.com . en.
  23. Web site: Chiazor. Juliet. 2018-07-26. Google for Nigeria: Making the internet more useful for more people. 2021-08-30. Google. en-us.
  24. Web site: 2019-05-28 . With 300 items on display, 47,000 in store, National Museum Lagos begs for attention . 2022-06-10 . The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News . en-US.
  25. Web site: Abiodun. Michael. 2016. Cultural Heritage Preservation Through the Preventive Conservation Methods in the National Museum in Lagos. 2021-08-29.
  26. Web site: National Museum Lagos, Nigeria Attractions. 2021-08-29. Lonely Planet. en.
  27. Book: Wiseman, Blaine. Nigeria. 2015-08-01. Weigl Publishers. 978-1-4896-3061-2. en.
  28. Book: Museum (Lagos), Nigeria National. Guide to the Nigerian Museum, Lagos. 1960. en.
  29. Web site: 2016. Nigerian wooden sculptures and their preservation in the National Museum Lagos, Nigeria. 2021-10-13. Anistoriton Journal.
  30. Book: Okereke, Dominic. Africa's Quiet Revolution Observed from Nigeria. 2012. Paragon Publishing. 978-1-908341-87-7. en.
  31. Web site: 2016-03-21 . Unfinished Business art exhibition holds at National Museum, Lagos . 2022-06-10 . Vanguard News . en-GB.
  32. Web site: Omokhapue. Paulina. 2020-09-20. SNA Lagos holds October rain exhibition. 2021-09-01. The Guardian Nigeria News.
  33. Web site: 2019-10-28. In Dialogue with History: A Review of an Exhibition by Kelani Abass & Northcote W. Thomas By Roli O'tsemaye. 2021-08-31. The Sole Adventurer. en-US.
  34. Web site: 2021-06-13. Ekpetorson's Different Shades Of Being opens in Lagos. 2021-08-30. The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. en-US.
  35. Web site: 2012-03-21. National Museum, Lagos at Onikan presents Unknown Pleasures & Competing Tendencies by Ndidi Dike. 2021-10-13. Art Agenda. en.
  36. Web site: Exhibiting Unknown Pleasures - P.M. News . 2022-06-10 . en-US.
  37. Web site: Dailytrust News, Sports and Business, Politics Dailytrust . 2022-06-10 . Daily Trust . en.
  38. Web site: 2021-08-15 . Ndidi Dike's working through an impasse . 2022-06-10 . The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News . en-US.
  39. Web site: 2019-10-09. Ngozi Schommers' 'the way we mask' at the National Museum in Lagos. 2021-10-13. The Sole Adventurer. en-GB.
  40. Web site: About . 2022-06-10 . Ngozi Schommers . de-DE.
  41. Web site: 2019-10-23 . Schommers' "The Way We Mask" opens in November . 2022-06-10 . Vanguard News . en-GB.
  42. Web site: Oladumiye. Bankole. Adiji. Bolajoko. January 2013. Nigerian Museum and Art Preservation. 2021-08-30. ResearchGate. en.
  43. Web site: Onyeakagbu. Adaobi. 2021-07-01. A brief walk into the Nigerian National Museum. 2021-08-30. Pulse Nigeria. en.
  44. NOK Culture Central Nigeria . ResearchGate.
  45. Web site: 2013-12-03 . Nigeria: Nok has more wonders yet for the world! . 2022-06-10 . New African Magazine.
  46. Web site: 2019-04-02. Everything You need to know about National Museum Onikan, Lagos. 2021-08-30. TravelWaka. en-GB.
  47. Web site: National Museum Lagos Lagos State :: Nigeria Information & Guide. 2021-08-30. www.nigeriagalleria.com.
  48. Web site: Ojoye. Taiwo. 2019-05-28. How 47,000 artefacts are wasting away in ageing national museum. 2021-08-30. Punch Newspapers.
  49. Web site: National Museum of Lagos: 8 Must-See Masterpieces. 2021-08-29. Google Arts & Culture. en.
  50. Book: Silverman. Raymond. National Museums in Africa: Identity, History and Politics. Abungu. George. Probst. Peter. 2021-08-31. Routledge. 978-1-000-42864-3. en.
  51. Web site: 2019-12-21 . War & Peace: A Stranger at Home: An Essay on Noo Saro-Wiwa's Looking for Transwonderland - Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature: Panorama is a British lit journal/press/org revolutionising travel lit/visual art works . 2023-04-01 . panoramajournal.org . en-GB.

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