2005.92 Pair of figurated tongs (emun)

Ogboni (called Oshugbo in Ijebu) emblems include cast metal emblems with complex imagery.  The tongs, which were used for picking up sacrificial materials during Oboni society rituals, are embellished with human heads. The opposed crescents on the forehead may be an abstract rendering of the “edan bird,” which protected Ogboni members.

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.

n.d.: Perutz Collection, Dallas

2005: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of George and Sidney Perutz

Notes: The main source for this provenance is the copy of the Deed of Gift in the Collections Records object file.

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