# Altar figure (onílé)

- Date: possibly 1700s
- Medium: Copper alloy
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: with base: 34.3 x 10.8 x 25.4 cm (13 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 10 in.); without base: 31.3 x 10.8 x 25.4 cm (12 5/16 x 4 1/4 x 10 in.)
- Culture: Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker
- Credit line: Alma Kroeger Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2007.160)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2007.160/2007.160_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This figure of a horse and rider is related to the Ògbóni society, whose responsibilities include the burial of titleholders and leaders and the judgment and punishment of criminals. A counterweight to the authority of the king, it is also responsible for the selection, installation, and removal of rulers. Probably once forming a pair with a female figure, the equestrian symbolized the king’s male ancestors.