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Sango Shrine Figure: Mother and Child

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Sango Shrine Figure: Mother and Child

Date:
19th–mid-20th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Ogbomosho region
Culture:
Yoruba peoples
Medium:
Wood, pigment
Dimensions:
H. 28 1/2 x W. 9 1/2 x D. 6 7/16 in. (72.4 x 24.1 x 16.3 cm)
Classification:
Wood-Sculpture
Credit Line:
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
Accession Number:
1979.206.10

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 352

  • Description

    While Yoruba cosmology recognizes a divine creator removed from the affairs of mankind, ritual life addresses a more accessible pantheon of gods, the orisa. One such orisa is Sango, a deified former king of Oyo. During his lifetime Sango was a ruthless and ambitious leader who was fascinated by magical powers, such as lightening, that he was unable to control. He is commemorated as a forceful and charismatic figure whose abuse of power had tragic consequences.

    Special shrines constitute the site for interaction between individual orisa and their followers. Figural sculptures displayed within them are not intended as mere aesthetic complements but rather to enhance a worshipper's state of concentration. These works at once depict idealized followers of the orisa and induce in the actual devotees a state of receptiveness necessary for them to become physical vehicles for the orisa's presence.

  • Provenance

    Leon Underwood, London, collected near coast of Nigeria, in 1946; [John J. Klejman, New York, until 1953]; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, 1953, on loan to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1956–1978

  • See also
    Who
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    In the Museum
    Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
    MetPublications
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