H x W x D: 58.4 x 22.5 x 8.3 cm (23 x 8 7/8 x 3 1/4 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Nigeria
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
This staff was carried in ceremonies and dances to honor Shango, the Yoruba orisha (god) of thunder and a deified legendary king of Oyo-Ile (Old Oyo). The woman, a mother or potential mother, is considered particularly suitable for Shango-related imagery. Her nudity and kneeling pose suggest humility before a deity in a ritual setting. Following Yoruba artistic convention, she is portrayed as a physically mature but youthful woman, capable of bearing children and counterbalancing the hot-tempered virility of Shango. Children are considered to be blessings given from the god in return for devotion.
Most figural oshe Shango consist of three sections--a handle, a female figure and a superstructure depicting two stone axes. The axes represent the thunderbolts hurled by the god to punish wrongdoers who have aroused his anger. Carrying goods on the head is commonplace in Africa, and priestesses literally bear images of the deity on their heads.
Description:
Wood staff in the form of a kneeling female figure holding a stylized snake in an inverted U over her head, topped by a pair of opposing triangles in a bowtie form. Female figure has white beads around her neck and staff is pigmented in red, blue and white.
Provenance:
Dr. and Mrs. Albert E. Henn, -- to 1971
Exhibition History:
African Cosmos: Stellar Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 20-December 9, 2012; Newark Museum, February 26-August 11, 2013; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, August 23-November 30, 2014; Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, Atlanta, January 31-June 21, 2015
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