ClassificationsAfrican Art

Herbalist's Staff, Opa Osanyin

Place CreatedNigeria, Africa

CultureYoruba, Oyo region

Datelate 19th-early 20th Century

MediumIron

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions44 7/8 x 11 13/16 x 13 3/4 in. (114 x 30 x 35 cm)

Object number1994.004.580

Label TextIron staffs with bird images are dedicated to the Yoruba gods of herbalism, Osanyin and Eyinle, and are used by their followers. These bird images refer to dreaded witches, potentially destructive older women ("our mothers") who become birds at night to attack their victims. Herbalists, with their special knowledge, prepare antidotes to prevent attacks or to transform negative actions into acts of healing. The number of birds, sixteen, surmounting each staff is significant: it refers to a fundamental number used in Ifa divination, and to the original number of Yoruba kingdoms. Similar staffs with images of birds are also carried by Ifa divination priests.
Exhibition HistoryArt of Nigeria from the William S. Arnett Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, October 15, 1994 - January 2, 1995
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 1, December 15, 1995 - Summer 1996
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, November 19, 2007 - December 2010
Divine Intervention: African Art and Religion, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - December 4, 2011
Published ReferencesMichael C. Carlos Museum Handbook (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 1996), 106.

ProvenanceEx coll. William S. Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia.

Status

On view

Collections