尼日利亚失传多年名画将在二月底拍卖

Art Lovers¹ Get Chance to Buy Long-Lost Nigerian Painting

A painting of a Nigerian princess that was lost for more than 40 years has been found in England. It will be sold at the end of February.

Nigeria’s best-known modern artist, Ben Enwonwu, painted the work. It is called “Tutu.”

The painting will be offered to buyers at a public auction² in London. The company organizing the auction says the event will be shown in Lagos on a special video feed. That way, Nigerian art lovers in the country’s largest city can make offers for the painting.

History of the painting

Enwonwu painted “Tutu” in 1974. It appeared at an art show in Lagos the following year. But there are no records of what happened to the painting after that, until it reappeared in north London.

The subject in the artwork is a Nigerian princess named Adetutu Ademiluyi. She was a granddaughter of a traditional ruler from the Yoruba ethnic³ group. In Nigeria, the painting came to represent a sign of national reconciliation⁴ after the Biafran War. The conflict lasted from 1967 to 1970.

Enwonwu belonged to the Igbo, the largest ethnic group in southeastern Nigeria. The Igbo attempted to break away from rest of the country under the name of Biafra. The Yoruba people, whose homeland is in the southwest, were mostly on the opposing side in the war.

Enwonwu made three versions⁵ of the painting. The other two remain lost. However, prints first made in the 1970s have been on display ever since. The images are familiar to many Nigerians.

Enwonwu died in 1994. His son, Oliver Enwonwu, is president of the Society of Nigerian Artists.

“This is a very significant⁶ discovery, given my father’s contribution to Nigerian art and African art,” he told the Reuters news agency⁷.

Discovery in London home

Giles Peppiatt, an expert on modern African art, identified the painting. He works⁸ for the London auction house Bonhams.

Peppiatt said it was a shock to him to find the painting hanging in a north London home where he was called to examine it. The owners did not wish to be identified, he said.

In the past, Peppiatt noted⁹, he has gone looking for the three paintings, but did not find them.

The auction will take place on February 28. Bonhams expects the final sale price of “Tutu” to be anywhere from $275,000 to $400,000.

“We are quite hopeful about it because the market for Nigerian modern art is really strong at the moment. I’ve been in the market for 12 years and it’s as strong as I’ve ever known it,” Peppiatt told Reuters.

One of the issues in setting¹⁰ up a live auction connecting London and Lagos could be the Nigerian city’s power supplies. Power outages are a problem in Lagos, and they often affect internet connections.

Peppiatt is hoping for no problems on the day of the sale. “It’s the first time anyone has done it (such an auction) so that will be rather exciting,” he said.

I'm Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

auction – n. a sale of something to the person offering the most money

reconciliation – n. the act of becoming friendly again

display – n. an event in which something is shown to people

contribution – n. payment for a share of something

1 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

2 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

5 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 significant   

adj.相当数量的；意义重大的；意味深长的

参考例句：

• Your success today may be significant for your whole future.你今天的成功对你的整个未来可能是重要的。
• She cast him a significant smile.她向他投去意味深长的一笑。

7 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

8 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。