id:			296866
accession number:	2018.34
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2018.34
updated:		2023-08-24 01:19:07.010000

Dance staff for Èṣù (Ògò Èlẹ́gba), 1800s. Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker. Wood, leather, cowrie shells, seeds, and natural fiber; 62 cm (24 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 2018.34

title:				Dance staff for Èṣù (Ògò Èlẹ́gba)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1800s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1899
current location:		108C Akan & Yoruba
creditline:			John L. Severance Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker
technique:	Wood, leather, cowrie shells, seeds, and natural fiber
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: 62 cm (24 7/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		African art rotation
	opening date:   2019-02-20T05:00:00
	<i>African art rotation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20, 2019-October 5, 2020).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* <em>Utotombo: L'Art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges.</em> Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium (March 25 - June 5, 1988)

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PROVENANCE

	(Lucien Van de Velde [1910–1996], Anvers, Belgium, sold to Dr. Marc Lorre)
	date: ?–1974
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Mrs. Marc Lorre, Antwerp, Belgium, sold to Christie’s
	date: 1974–2012
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Christie’s, Paris, France, December 11, 2012, no. 59, sold to a private collector)
	date: 2012
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Private collection, Paris, France, sold to Christie’s
	date: 2018
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Christie’s, Paris, France, April 8, 2018, Sale 16061 Arts d'Afrique, d'Océanie et d'Amérique,  no. 58 sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: 2018
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2018–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
If Eshu isn’t properly honored, trouble may befall the community or individual.

digital description:


wall description:
Èṣù (also called Èḷégba) embodies the most complex deity in the Yorùbá pantheon of gods. The messenger of the Yorùbá gods, Èṣù is also the bearer of sacrifices, guardian of the ritual way of life, and is associated with highly significant places including crossroads, markets, and home entrances. As seen here, Èṣù's power is often visually represented in Ògò Èḷégba (dance staffs); in this example, the unusually paired man and woman reference his ability to switch between the two genders, turn death into life (through childbirth), and to overcome the tension between the sexes. The male character bears a ritual flute reserved for this god. The abundance of cowrie shells means that Èṣù brings wealth.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Debbaut, Jan, Dominique Favart, and G. van Geertruyen. <em>Utotombo: l'art d'Afrique noire dans les collections privées belges</em>. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Société des Expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts, March 25-June 5, 1988.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 163, cat. 98
	url:		

	Drewal, Henry John, John Pemberton, Rowland Abiodun, and Allen Wardwell. <em>Yoruba: Nine centuries of African art and thought. </em>New York: Center for African Art in association with H.N. Abrams, 1989.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Nzewi, Ugochukwu-Smooth. “Acquisitions 2018: African Art.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>59, no. 2 (March/April 2019): 8-9.
	page number: 	Reproduced: P. 9; Mentioned: P. 8, 9.
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.34/2018.34_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.34/2018.34_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2018.34/2018.34_full.tif