Yoruba Shango Staff (Oshe Shango), Nigeria
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Description of Significance
This Yoruba Shango Staff (Dance Wand or Oshe Shango) is a ritual object from Nigeria, made within the traditions of the Yoruba, one of Nigeria’s largest groups concentrated in the country’s southwest, (with smaller communities in Benin and northern Togo).
The staff features a female figure supporting Shango's emblem: a double-headed axe rising from the top of her head. Shango is a powerful orisha—an orisha being a divine spiritual force that serves as an intermediary between humanity and the supreme creator, governing specific aspects of the natural and moral world. In Yoruba religion, Shango is associated with thunder and lightning (also linked with divine authority/justice in many accounts), and his most prominent ritual symbol is the oshe, the double-headed battle-axe.
Museum sources describe the oshe Shango as a staff carried by devotees in ceremonies/festivals honoring Shango; the double axe motif is commonly interpreted as a thunderbolt sign, and the female figure represents a devotee.
Origin
- Handcrafted for ceremonial use in Nigeria
Dimensions (inches)
- Depth: 2"
- Width: 2"
- Height: 19"
- Height includes the base/ stand
Materials
- Indigenous wood
Display
- Custom Base: The piece includes the custom base included in the photos.
Shipping
- Shipped with FedEx Ground.
- A declared value is included in the shipping so a signature is required for delivery.
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About Antique African Art
Hemingway Gallery regards antique African art as the best artistic expression of aesthetic beauty and storytelling throughout the known history of art. Aside from artistic taste, African art accrues value in different ways than other genres, including use in ceremonial settings as well as age. 50 years can be regarded as old or antique when it comes to wood masks and totems. Hemingway Gallery provides both authoritative insight and context into each artifact in the collection, possessing and readily exhibiting direct, intimate knowledge of the source and pedigree. The goal is to preserve and curate one-of-a-kind artifacts of importance while creating a platform for the acquisition of spectacular unique pieces within financial reach.
Our Pricing
Hemingway Gallery ethically sources all the fine art in our collection. Our pricing correlates directly to the asking prices of artists, artisans and art dealers in the various African countries we collect from and the costs of importing the artwork to the U.S. We need to change the idea that artists should be paid pennies for their fine art just because it comes from Africa. Paying a fair price in Africa is our number one priority and our pricing reflects that.
Further Information
Please email us at info@hemingwayafricangallery.com or call 212-838-3650 with the SKU # for further information on this piece.
Pickup currently unavailable at Hemingway African Gallery
Yoruba Shango Staff (Oshe Shango), Nigeria
Hemingway African Gallery
88 Leonard St.
New York NY 10013
United States
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