Ere ibeji figure

Museum number:
5-14901b
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm2105014901b
Alternate number:
47 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.4428
Description:
Figures, a pair; Eshu-Elegba figures, male and female, wood painted black; each holding pair of phallic-like long-necked calabashes; base/handle of both cut off and missing; (a) male: coiffure with edge of crest damaged; red glass bead necklace; kneeling; columns of zigzags and triangles on pubic apron; (b) female: red glass bead necklace with white stripes; kneeling; open four-point coiffure.
Donor:
Joan Wescott
Collection place:
Nigeria
Verbatim coll. place:
Africa; Nigeria; Oke Iho; Yoruba
Culture or time period:
Yoruba
Collector:
Joan Wescott
Collection date:
1955-1957
Materials:
Glass (material) and Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Ere ibeji
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies
Accession date:
July 25, 1989
Context of use:
Worn by women worshippers of Elegba (Elegbara), the mischief-maker and messenger of the gods. He is the lonely inhabitant of crossroads and marketplaces and the guardian at doorways (Wescott, "Yoruba Art in German and Swiss Museums"). The figures are worn hanging downwards over the breasts of the woman worshipper and kept in a shrine when not worn. These figures should be covered in strings of cowries and coins.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
height 26.6 centimeters
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 3 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-14901b, described as Figures, a pair; Eshu-Elegba figures, male and female, wood painted black; each holding pair of phallic-like long-necked calabashes; base/handle of both cut off and missing; (a) male: coiffure with edge of crest damaged; red glass bead necklace; kneeling; columns of zigzags and triangles on pubic apron; (b) female: red glass bead necklace with white stripes; kneeling; open four-point coiffure.Hearst Museum object 2 of 3 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-14901b, described as Figures, a pair; Eshu-Elegba figures, male and female, wood painted black; each holding pair of phallic-like long-necked calabashes; base/handle of both cut off and missing; (a) male: coiffure with edge of crest damaged; red glass bead necklace; kneeling; columns of zigzags and triangles on pubic apron; (b) female: red glass bead necklace with white stripes; kneeling; open four-point coiffure.Hearst Museum object 3 of 3 titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-14901b, described as Figures, a pair; Eshu-Elegba figures, male and female, wood painted black; each holding pair of phallic-like long-necked calabashes; base/handle of both cut off and missing; (a) male: coiffure with edge of crest damaged; red glass bead necklace; kneeling; columns of zigzags and triangles on pubic apron; (b) female: red glass bead necklace with white stripes; kneeling; open four-point coiffure.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Ere ibeji figure, accession number 5-14901b, described as Figures, a pair; Eshu-Elegba figures, male and female, wood painted black; each holding pair of phallic-like long-necked calabashes; base/handle of both cut off and missing; (a) male: coiffure with edge of crest damaged; red glass bead necklace; kneeling; columns of zigzags and triangles on pubic apron; (b) female: red glass bead necklace with white stripes; kneeling; open four-point coiffure.

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