Esu Dance Staff (Ogo Elegbara)
Yoruba (Yoruba; Nigeria; Coastal West Africa)
Mid–late 19th century
- Medium
- Wood
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- 49.6 × 17.8 × 22.9 cm (19 1/2 × 7 × 9 in.)
- Culture
- Nigeria
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Africa
- Credit line
- Gift of Anne R. Whipple and Jay Whipple in memory of Anne's son, W. Philip McNulty III
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Adult profiles and older: its museum's description or title mentions nudity. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This dance staff for the deity Eshu depicts a warrior flanked by a bound captive and a nursing mother. This work was made during a turbulent period of civil war. The warrior’s cap is depicted as a crooked phallus, which is a symbol of Eshu—the divine messenger, facilitator, and provocateur—and allows for the staff to be hooked over the shoulder.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
