Figures

Museum number:
5-15796a,b
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm210515796a@2cb
Alternate number:
B-2045a,b (previous number (Bascom’s number))
Accession number:
Acc.4661
Description:
figures, wood, handcarved; dark polished, each with handle and strands of cowrie shells suspended from leather covered ring near proximal end; both figures kneeling, and wearing headdress; a) male, with hands below knees, b) female, holding flasks in each hand against chest; L. ea. 34.0 cm. Has bag of shell fragments.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Collection place:
Africa
Verbatim coll. place:
Africa; Nigeria; Yoruba; Meko
Culture or time period:
Yoruba
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
1950
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Carvings (visual works)
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies
Accession date:
December 12, 1994
Context of use:
Eshu figures
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
ea— length 34 centimeters
Comment:
Elegba = Eshu. Slide. B/W photo stored with Bascom Collection Index Card File. NOTE: AN OBJECT BEARING THIS BASCOM NUMBER IS LOCATED IN W 2-BASCOM-4. A tag containing this Bascom number is attached to a string of cowry shells which is attached to figures. PAHMA Storage Loc: W-15-9 UPDATE: THE OBJECT THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY STORED IN W 2-BASCOM-4 WAS RE-LOCATED INTO W-15-9 AND PUT WITH 5-15796a,b AS IT IS A PART OF THAT OBJECT THAT HAS BROKEN OFF. It is a string of cowry shells in a small plastic bag labeled as 5-15796 and with the Bascom number B-2045b.
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 2 titled Figures, accession number 5-15796a,b, described as figures, wood, handcarved; dark polished, each with handle and strands of cowrie shells suspended from leather covered ring near proximal end; both figures kneeling, and wearing headdress; a) male, with hands below knees, b) female, holding flasks in each hand against chest; L. ea. 34.0 cm. Has bag of shell fragments.Hearst Museum object 2 of 2 titled Figures, accession number 5-15796a,b, described as figures, wood, handcarved; dark polished, each with handle and strands of cowrie shells suspended from leather covered ring near proximal end; both figures kneeling, and wearing headdress; a) male, with hands below knees, b) female, holding flasks in each hand against chest; L. ea. 34.0 cm. Has bag of shell fragments.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Figures, accession number 5-15796a,b, described as figures, wood, handcarved; dark polished, each with handle and strands of cowrie shells suspended from leather covered ring near proximal end; both figures kneeling, and wearing headdress; a) male, with hands below knees, b) female, holding flasks in each hand against chest; L. ea. 34.0 cm. Has bag of shell fragments.

Tools