Fig. 31 An elaborate substyle of lphri comes from the Ughienvwe village group. All were made by the same hand or at least by individuals who were working in collaboration. One is in the collection of the British Museum (fig. 31); another is in the Seattle Museum of Art (see Pamela McClusky 2002:168) and another is in an American private collection (cat. 36). A fourth example was seen in 1969 in Ughienvwe,(see Foss, 1975:pl. 62, 63).
In all four of these iphri, a nearly spherical beast whose front is dominated by a massive teeth-revealing mouth, which is further articulated by large cylindrical canines thrusting upward and down, rests upon four legs that angle outward slightly at the knees. A human head sits atop the beast, and arm-like forms extend laterally to join the shoulders of a pair of smaller, full-bodied supporting figures sited. Above the central head, resting on a platform established by four human heads stands a large animal that has been identified as an abstract version of a hippopotamus. A human head turned on its side supports each foot of the animal above. These faces repeat, in miniature, the same design as those of the more prominent visage. Beast below balances animal above. The huge, gaping mouth of the beast-form swells outward in a threatening, dangerous manner. A further allusion to the beast's ferocity is invested in the four heads supporting the feet of the upper animal. As the ultimate allusion
Cat. 36 Statue for male aggression (iphri) Wood, pipicrit. H.78.7 cm. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Rogoar
to
warfare, iphri.owners in Otughienvwe suggested in
1969 that these heads refer to the image's ability to capture slaves and kill enemies. The Ughienvwe iphri, then,
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