Among the Ijo of the Kalabari, the Ekine ruling society kept duein fubara (ancestral screens) to memorialize and communicate with the spirits of deceased trade house founders. This screen is attributed to a lineage of artists in the eastern Niger Delta. The central figure is the ancestor, accompanied by family members or supporters. Their geometric forms and direct, intense stares are distinctly Kalabari Ijo in styl, and the figures display signs of status and power like, prestige hats, vibrant pigments, and possibly weapons. The screen would have been part of an altar or shrine located in a meeting room of the trade house. Kalabari traders played a strategic role in this region for nearly five centuries and these detailed screens also embody the cultural exchanges from centuries of trade with Europeans. Scholars note that their construction shows knowledge of European carpentry, but the representation of the figures are distinctly Kalabari.