Dance staff for Èṣù (Ògò Èlẹ́gba)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Dance staff for Èṣù (Ògò Èlẹ́gba)

Date
1800s
Medium
Wood, leather, cowrie shells, seeds, and natural fiber
Culture
Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker
Department
African Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
296866

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Èṣù (also called Èḷégba) embodies the most complex deity in the Yorùbá pantheon of gods. The messenger of the Yorùbá gods, Èṣù is also the bearer of sacrifices, guardian of the ritual way of life, and is associated with highly significant places including crossroads, markets, and home entrances. As seen here, Èṣù's power is often visually represented in Ògò Èḷégba (dance staffs); in this example, the unusually paired man and woman reference his ability to switch between the two genders, turn death into life (through childbirth), and to overcome the tension between the sexes. The male character bears a ritual flute reserved for this god. The abundance of cowrie shells means that Èṣù brings wealth. If Eshu isn’t properly honored, trouble may befall the community or individual.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
John L. Severance Fund
Provenance
?–1974: (Lucien Van de Velde [1910–1996], Anvers, Belgium, sold to Dr. Marc Lorre) | 1974–2012: Mrs. Marc Lorre, Antwerp, Belgium, sold to Christie’s | 2012: (Christie’s, Paris, France, December 11, 2012, no. 59, sold to a private collector) | 2018: Private collection, Paris, France, sold to Christie’s | 2018: (Christie’s, Paris, France, April 8, 2018, Sale 16061 Arts d'Afrique, d'Océanie et d'Amérique, no. 58 sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) | 2018–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

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