Staff/scepter

Museum number:
5-15491
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21050015491
Alternate number:
B-1277 (previous number (Bascom’s number))
Accession number:
Acc.4529
Description:
Staff/scepter (Ọgọ Eṣu), wood, handcarved; cane handle shape; stylized human face carved into proximal end of handle and near center of staff in low relief; flared out distal end; height 48.0 cm; width (at handle) 5.5 cm.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Collection place:
Nigeria
Verbatim coll. place:
West Africa, S. W. Nigeria, Yoruba; Purchased from Saja Tunkara
Culture or time period:
Yoruba
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
1970
Materials:
Pigment and Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Carvings (visual works)
Function:
3.1 Status Objects and Insignia of Office
Context of use:
Yoruba 'Eshu' staff (specifically an ọgọ Eṣu). Purchased for $125 in 1970 from Saja Tunkara.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
width 5.5 centimeters and height 48 centimeters
Comment:
Fide J. Lorand Matory (12/14/2017): "5-15491 is specifically an ọgọ Eṣu—a staff/scepter carried by a priest of Eṣu (Eshu).
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 6 titled Staff/scepter, accession number 5-15491, described as Staff/scepter (Ọgọ Eṣu), wood, handcarved; cane handle shape; stylized human face carved into proximal end of handle and near center of staff in low relief; flared out distal end; height 48.0 cm; width (at handle) 5.5 cm.Hearst Museum object 2 of 6 titled Staff/scepter, accession number 5-15491, described as Staff/scepter (Ọgọ Eṣu), wood, handcarved; cane handle shape; stylized human face carved into proximal end of handle and near center of staff in low relief; flared out distal end; height 48.0 cm; width (at handle) 5.5 cm.Hearst Museum object 3 of 6 titled Staff/scepter, accession number 5-15491, described as Staff/scepter (Ọgọ Eṣu), wood, handcarved; cane handle shape; stylized human face carved into proximal end of handle and near center of staff in low relief; flared out distal end; height 48.0 cm; width (at handle) 5.5 cm.Hearst Museum object 4 of 6 titled Staff/scepter, accession number 5-15491, described as Staff/scepter (Ọgọ Eṣu), wood, handcarved; cane handle shape; stylized human face carved into proximal end of handle and near center of staff in low relief; flared out distal end; height 48.0 cm; width (at handle) 5.5 cm.Hearst Museum object 5 of 6 titled Staff/scepter, accession number 5-15491, described as Staff/scepter (Ọgọ Eṣu), wood, handcarved; cane handle shape; stylized human face carved into proximal end of handle and near center of staff in low relief; flared out distal end; height 48.0 cm; width (at handle) 5.5 cm.Hearst Museum object 6 of 6 titled Staff/scepter, accession number 5-15491, described as Staff/scepter (Ọgọ Eṣu), wood, handcarved; cane handle shape; stylized human face carved into proximal end of handle and near center of staff in low relief; flared out distal end; height 48.0 cm; width (at handle) 5.5 cm.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Staff/scepter, accession number 5-15491, described as Staff/scepter (Ọgọ Eṣu), wood, handcarved; cane handle shape; stylized human face carved into proximal end of handle and near center of staff in low relief; flared out distal end; height 48.0 cm; width (at handle) 5.5 cm.

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