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.
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Artwork Details
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Title: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
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
Museum of Primitive Art. "The World of Primitive Art," July 12, 1966–September 11, 1966.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Oceania, Africa and the Americas from The Museum of Primitive Art," May 10–August 17, 1969.
Seattle Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–February 16, 1975.
American Federation of Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–May 15, 1977.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 23, 1975–May 4, 1975.
Dallas Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 8, 1975–July 20, 1975.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," August 25, 1975–October 10, 1975.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," November 9, 1975–December 21, 1975.
Toledo Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," April 11, 1976–May 25, 1976.
Walker Art Center. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 27, 1976–August 8, 1976.
Denver Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," September 10, 1976–November 7, 1976.
de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 12, 1977–May 15, 1977.
Underwood Leon. Figures in Wood of West Africa. London: J. Tiranti, 1947, nos. 16a, 17a, 17b.
Traditional Art of the British Colonies: An Exhibition held at the Royal Anthropological Institute 21 June-20 July, 1949. London: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1949, p. 8, no. 40.
Museum of Primitive Art. Traditional Art of the African Nations in the Museum of Primitive Art. New York: University Publishers, Inc., 1961, no. 61.
Museum of Primitive Art. Masterpieces in the Museum of Primitive Art: Africa, Oceania, North America, Mexico, Central to South America, Peru. Handbook series. New York, NY: Museum of Primitive Art, 1965, no. 21.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas from the Museum of Primitive Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1969, no. 382.
American Federation of Arts. Primitive Art Masterworks: an exhibition jointly organized by the Museum of Primitive Art and the American Federation of Arts, New York. New York: American Federation of Arts, 1974, no. 72.
Newton, Douglas. Masterpieces of Primitive Art: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978, p. 173.
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The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.
