A Nigerian bronze of an elongated female representing the Igbo earth goddess, Ani. The title refers to the Igbo practice of saluting the morning sun in honour of the Great Spirit, Chiukwu.

The sculpture is one of several small-scale versions of Enwonwu's Anywanu ('eye of the sun') which was made in 1954-55 and stands on the façade of the National Museum in Lagos. According to Enwonwu, Anyanwu symbolises 'our rising nation.. the forces embodied in womanhood: the beginning, and then, the development and flowering into the fullest statue of a nation - a people!'

Benedict (Ben) Enwonwu was a leading Nigerian painter and sculptor. In 1957 HM Queen Elizabeth II sat for him for a large bronze sculpture which now stands at the entrance to the Parliament Buildings in Lagos. His work is represented elsewhere in the Royal Collection (RCIN 2014).