LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 June African & Oceanic Art Auction #645  / 

48105

Yoruba (Nigeria), Staff topped with a Human Head

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Ethnographic Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,850.00 - 3,500.00 USD
Yoruba (Nigeria), Staff topped with a Human Head
<B>Yoruba (Nigeria)</B></I><BR>Staff topped with a Human Head<BR>Bronze, iron<BR>Height: 11 ¼ in. Width: 2 ¼ inches<BR><BR>A cast copper-alloy pointed staff is topped with a human head, and with three animals. On top of the head is a loop for the attachment of a chain or cord. This was probably a ritual object used in the <I>Ogboni</B></I> cult, a staff owned by a member of the Ogboni/Oshugbo association, also an earth cult and a leadership organization, as indicated by the opposed crescent designs on the forehead. On the shaft are, from the bottom and facing upward, a bird, a lizard or chameleon, and another bird, the latter with its beak in the human mouth, a gesture of unknown significance. The two lower animals are on the back of a lizard in very low relief. An S-shaped design appears at the two corners of the mouth, and a small knob is on the forehead. Two small round knobs on the upper part of the shaft may be breasts.<BR><BR>Said to have come from near the Yoruba city-state of Owo.<BR><BR>There is an original casting fault 1 ¼ inches long starting 1 1/8 inches above the point.<BR><BR>Provenance: H. Bruce Greene II and family, Naples, Florida<BR><BR><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Requires 3rd Party Shipping (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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