Hunting for the woman in the 'African Mona Lisa'
She's been described as "the African Mona Lisa", the subject of a long-lost series of three paintings by the artist considered the father of Nigerian modernism.
But like Leonardo da Vinci's most famous portrait, finding out more about the woman in Ben Enwonwu's "Tutu" has so far been elusive, even for her extensive extended family.
One of the missing works, which was discovered in a north London flat, goes on sale in the British capital on Wednesday and is expected to fetch 250,000 pounds ($347,000, 282,000 euros).
Enwonwu was professor of fine arts at the university in Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba people in southwest Nigeria, when he met Adetutu Ademiluyi and painted her in 1973 and 1974.
The painting of the Yoruba princess by an ethnic Igbo artist became a symbol of national reconciliation at a delicate time in Nigeria's history.
A brutal civil war had ended just four years earlier between federal forces and Biafran separatists wanting an Igbo homeland in the southeast.
What is known about "Tutu" is that she was the granddaughter of the traditional ruler, Ademiluyi Ajagun, the Ooni (king) of Ife, who died in 1930.
He is said to have married up to 47 times, had many mistresses and, unsurprisingly, many children.
Surviving relatives in Ife said they remember an Adetutu in the family.
"Adetutu was... one of the daughters of Kabiyesi (king) Ademiluyi," said Olori (queen) Anifowoshe, who added that she was the only surviving wife of the former monarch.
But Anifowoshe, who is said to be more than 100, couldn't recall if Adetutu married or had children and told AFP: "She died many years ago."
Cecilia Ayoka is another centenarian and was married to Prince Okero Ademiluyi, a son of the former king.
"I used to know Adetutu in those days but for some years now I haven't heard anything about her," she added.
"Not many people knew Adetutu because Ademiluyi is such a large family.
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