H x W x D: 9.9 x 9.5 x 9.7 cm (3 7/8 x 3 3/4 x 3 13/16 in.)
Type:
Jewelry
Geography:
Ijebu region, Nigeria
Date:
18th-19th century
Label Text:
This Yoruba armlet features the extremely rare and important imagery of the "snake-wing bird" or bat. This motif appears in somewhat varying forms on the large-scale male figures from Gara and Jebba, as well as on a limited number of armlets. Related images appear on copper alloy stools from Ijebu-Ode, and in Benin art. Particularly noteworthy on this armlet is the grasping hand (or in this case bird foot) gesture with emphasized thumb, a staple of Benin iconography. The frontal face with its opposing crescent marks on the forehead is typically associated with the Oshugbo society, although research on the Ijebu region has found it in other cult contexts. The finials on the faces' projections have been described as python heads, but comparisons with the Ijebu-Ode stool offer other possibilities--such as antelope hooves or a shortened reference to the python devouring an antelope with three leaves.
Dating of this regional material continues to be problematic and published data seems to rely on cross-referencing motifs with more accepted chronologies in Yoruba and Benin and with major pieces that have oral histories. The iconography and the braided motifs are often given an 18th century date. The relative thickness of the armlet and the unpierced crotal free flanges are often cause for a 19th century date.
Description:
Cast copper alloy cuff bracelet with two pairs of composite figures in high relief that read horizontally (perpendicular to cylinder openings): a face with opposing crescent marks on its forehead, with two curving bands of interlace projecting from the head and ending in a shaped triangular form (snake head, bird, hoof?) with three conical projections (antelope horns, leaves?); a creature, probably based on the bat, with a torso with small breasts, and an incised elliptical form over the navel. It has outstretched looped wings and thin legs ending in clenched hands with extended thumbs. The three-tail feathers and the wings share a similar feather/leaf-vein pattern. Each armlet opening is surrounded by a smooth flange with a braid motif, worn in places, on the outer edge.
Provenance:
Professor and Mrs. J. Newton Hill, New York, before 1987
Charlton and Sylvia Williams, Washington, D.C., ca. 1987 to 1996
Charlton Williams, Washington, D.C., 1996 to 2002
Exhibition History:
African Textiles and Decorative Arts, Museum of Modern Art, New York, October 11, 1972-January 31, 1973; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 20-May 31, 1973; M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, July 2-August 31, 1973; Cleveland Museum of Art, October 3-December 2, 1973
Published References:
Sieber, Roy. 1972. African Textiles and Decorative Arts. New York: Museum of Modern Art.
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