A Moba iron sculpture, Northern Ghana, posted on a wooden stand. The “iron sculpture” associated with the Moba (also called Bimoba) of northern Ghana (and adjacent Togo) is part of a broader sculptural‑ritual tradition more commonly manifested in what are called Tchitcheri (or plural “tchitcheri sakab”). The tchitcheri are stylised anthropomorphic figures: reduced geometry rather than realistic likeness — a vertical trunk, often slender and elongated; minimal limbs (arms and legs often short and simplified); a roughly rounded head without neck; almost no facial or bodily detail. Within Moba ritual life tchitcheri perform ancestral and protective roles. A figure may be commissioned by a diviner when individuals, families or clans face misfortune — illness, infertility, poor harvests, or other crises. Once created and ritually activated, the tchitcheri becomes a spiritual mediator: through it the living commune with ancestors or spiritual forces, seeking protection, fertility, health or social balance Traditionally most tchitcheri are carved in wood. However there also exist versions rendered in iron (and occasionally in other materials such as bone) — the iron ones are much rarer and more exceptional. The iron gives these objects a radically different aesthetic effect: the abstraction appears even stricter, the forms more ascetic, the presence more austere and perhaps more “timeless.” Some of these iron figures have come onto the art market or ethnographic auction circuits, described as “striking examples of indigenous religious statuary in West Africa "I believe that the import of all art objects from Africa—whether copies or originals—should be prohibited to protect Africa." Quote: Prof. Dr. Viola König, former director of the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, now HUMBOLDTFORUM Legal Framework Under the 1970 UNESCO Convention in combination with the Kulturgutschutz Gesetz (KGSG) any claim for the restitution of cultural property becomes time-barred three years after the competent authorities of the State of origin obtain knowledge of the object’s location and the identity of its possessor. All bronzes and terracotta items offered have been publicly exhibited in Wolfgang Jaenicke Gallery since 2001. Organisations such as DIGITAL BENIN and academic institutions such as the Technical University of Berlin, which have been intensively involved in restitution-reseaches (translocation-project) over the past seven years, are aware of our work, have inspected large parts of our collection and have visited us in our dependance in Lomé, Togo, among other places, to learn about the international Art trade on site. Furthermore, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in Abuja, Nigeria, has been informed about our collection. In no case in the past have there been restitution claims against private institutions such as the Wolfgang Jaenicke Gallery Our Gallery addresses these structural challenges through a policy of maximum transparency and documentation. Should any questions or uncertainties arise, we invite you to contact us. Each matter will be reviewed diligently using all available resources. CAB25456