H x W x D: 10.2 x 10.5 x 3.2 cm (4 x 4 1/8 x 1 1/4 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Ijebu region, Nigeria
Date:
Early to mid-20th century
Label Text:
The Oshugbo, an organization of elderly titled men and women, has political and judicial functions based on religious beliefs that center on veneration of the founding ancestors. Among the copper alloy insignia of the society are a pair of staffs composed of a male and a female figure or two heads on pointed rods. The two staffs are usually joined by a chain. The staff represents the power to reconcile and adjudicate differences among peoples and to atone for violations committed against spiritual and moral standards. This example is only a fragment of one of the staffs. The crescents resemble the forehead marks that are the emblem of Oshugbo. On the staffs they also may relate to depictions of stylized birds as spiritual messengers. In its present broken condition the fragment is useful for illustrating casting techniques, as the central iron rod and clay core inside tthe cast copper alloy is visible.
Description:
Cast copper alloy head over iron rod and clay core. Head has projecting oval eyes, and side projections of four crescents, three of which are broken and missing halves.
Provenance:
Benjamin Weiss, -- to 1982
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