2005.101 Altar stand in the form of a cuff

Ogboni (called Oshugbo in Ijebu) emblems include cast metal emblems with complex imagery. The altar stand/cuff is decorated with pairs of female figures, one with legs formed as a pair of mudfish. This symbolizes Olokun, god of the sea and a symbol of wealth. 

Among the Yoruba, the Ogboni/Oshugbo society was simultaneously a civic court, a town council, a patron of the arts, and an electoral college that selected the king. Its membership was composed of distinguished religious, social, and political leaders, including women, who worked together to assure the well-being of the community.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.

Around 1960: Denes Collection, Arizona, collected in Nigeria [1]

2005: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from above through Deborah Stokes, Chicago [2]

[1] See the copy of the Acquisition Proposal in the Collections Records object file.

[2] See the copy of the invoice dated December 12, 2005, in the Collections Records object file.

Apply to objects where number equals 2005.101