Esu-Elegbara Dance Staff (ogo Esu-Elegbara) / Artist Unknown, African, Yoruba Peoples Nigeria
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2003/2.26
- Title
- Esu-Elegbara Dance Staff (ogo Esu-Elegbara)
- Artist Nationality
- Nigerian
- Medium and Support
- wood, leather, cowrie shells, brass, iron, seeds
- Object Creation Date
- 1900-1975
- Object Creation Place
- Africa (continent)
- Nigeria (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Africa (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Nigeria (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dr. Daniel and Sandra Mato
- Dimensions
- 56 cm x 30 cm x 23 cm (22 1/16 in. x 11 13/16 in. x 9 1/16 in.)
- Century
- 19th-20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Ritual Objects
- Physical Description
- At the top of the staff, a male and female supplicant peer from a cascade of cowries, brass beads, iron fragments, and seeds. Some cowries are stained with indigo dye. The lower bodies of the figures are concealed by the shell strands above. Their elongated hairstyles extend the overall verticality of the piece. The figure’s faces appear to be identical.
- Subject Matter
- This staff sounds like a rattle when in motion. If seen in action, it “dances” at the threshold of town or the market to pay Esu-Elegbara homage. At rest, the shaker dangles around devotee’s necks or gets pegged to shrine walls. Esu is the deity of dynamic change and is represented by the crossroads. If honored properly, Esu generously intercedes in human affairs. Otherwise, he induces disorientation and stifles those who neglect him.
- Secondary Keywords
- arts
- arts and related disciplines
- ceremonial weapons
- chordophones
- combination inorganic/organic animal material
- combination inorganic/organic material
- descriptors
- disciplines
- humanities
- indirectly struck idiophones
- international post-1945 styles and movements
- materials
- materials by composition
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by state or condition
- performing arts
- post-1945 fine arts styles and movements
- shell (animal material)
- shell and shell material
- sound devices
- sound devices by acoustical characteristics
- struck idiophones
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- weapons
- weapons and ammunition
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 880 x 1793
- File Size
- 210 KB
- Record
- 2003/2.26
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2003-sl-2.26/2003_2.26.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2003-SL-2.26:2003_2.26.JPG
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- Full citation
-
"Esu-Elegbara Dance Staff (ogo Esu-Elegbara); ; Artist Unknown, African, Yoruba Peoples Nigeria." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2003-sl-2.26/2003_2.26.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 17, 2024.
