Most Nupe art is abstract, with only some abstracted animals in relief
on their doors and rare pots.
The large houseposts were supports for beams or the roof. These would be
extremely difficult or expensive to ship. The smaller ones predate and are
possible influences on 20th C. sculptors such as Brancusi, whose columns
and bases are similar in spirit to these traditional Nupe works. Although
placed in the ground, they were ceremonial, not structural. Numbers 7 and
11 were originally joined with other pieces, probably for something similar
to a bedframe.
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