Description : Shrine figure of eshu ogo elegba Yoruba, Nigeria, Region of the Oyo-State wood, middle- and honeybrown patina, rising from a grooved circular base, carved with a tunic with v-shaped neck line, fly whisk and dance club as signs of dignity, crowned by a slender elongated head with eshu lobe backside and pupils with inserted metal tags, two strings with glass beads around the neck, slightly dam., cracks, the facial features as well as the incised ornaments on the vestment abraded, place of repair (eshu-lobe fixed by nails and metal clamps), the light brown colour probably based on frequent washing, the shrine-figures of eshu were kept wrapped up in fabric. They were brought out only once a year at the eshu celebration for animal sacrifice. The male deity eshu plays an important role in Yoruba religion. No sacrifice could be made without making a gift to eshu first, for he was looked upon as the mediator between the deities and the man. An accumulation of earth aside the house entrance, doused with palmoil, e hus preferred sacrificial offering, represented the deity. He should ward off evil and bad spirits. For a related figure from the Klever Collection see Sotheby's New York, November 15, 2002, lot 42. H: 55 cm, (5055/001) Provenance Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, USA Sotheby's New York, African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art, May 12, 2005, lot 67
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