Pair of Esu Staffs

Sculpture

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Pair of Esu Staffs

Entry/Object ID

2001.103ab

Description

on base

Artwork Details

Medium

Carved wood

Context

Esu is the messenger of god of the Yoruba religion also known as Elegy. This god is believed to be the messenger between the gods and humans. Edu is also the bearer of sacrifices and guardian of ritual way of life. The power of this god is represented through male and female pairs serving as a metaphor to his ability to morph from male to female and turn death into life. Many of the Esu staffs would be decorated with cowrie shells, but not the one in this collection.

Acquisition

Notes

Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of the May Weber Foundation

Made/Created

Artist

Unknown artist

Notes

Creation Date: 20th century

Ethnography

Notes

Yoruba, Nigeria Nigeria, Africa Yoruba

Lexicon

Getty AAT

Concept

Yoruba (culture or style), Southern Nigerian styles, West African (general), African (general, continental cultures), deities, people in religion, people (agents), ritual objects, ceremonial objects, object genres (object classifications)

Hierarchy Name

Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), People (hierarchy name), Object Genres (hierarchy name)

Facet

Styles and Periods Facet, Agents Facet, Objects Facet

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Female Figure

Height

13 in

Width

2-1/4 in

Dimension Description

Female Base

Height

3/4 in

Width

4 in

Depth

4 in

Dimension Description

Male Figure

Height

14-1/2 in

Width

2-1/2 in

Depth

2-1/2 in

Exhibitions

Human Bodies in the Spirit World: African Sculpture from the Weber Collection

The Body and Art: African Sculpture from the Permanent Collection

Interpretative Labels

Label

Untitled Unknown on base

Label

Pair of Esu staffs, Unknown 20th century on base