Dance Wand (Oshe Shango)
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Object Label
An oshe shango, or dance wand, is carried by devotees at the annual festival for Shango, the god of thunder and lightning. The double ax-blade motif on the figure's head represents a thunderbolt, associated with the sudden, overwhelming, and unpredictable power of of Shango. The female figure balancing the thunderbolts on her head represents a devotee of the god.
Caption
Yorùbá (Igbomina subgroup). Dance Wand (Oshe Shango), late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, pigment, 19 1/2 x 7 x 3 1/4 in. (49.5 x 17.8 x 8.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund and Designated Purchase Fund, 79.27. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 79.27_bw.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Dance Wand (Oshe Shango)
Date
late 19th or early 20th century
Geography
Possible place made: Kwara State, Nigeria, Possible place made: Osun State, Nigeria
Medium
Wood, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
19 1/2 x 7 x 3 1/4 in. (49.5 x 17.8 x 8.3 cm)
Credit Line
Frank L. Babbott Fund and Designated Purchase Fund
Accession Number
79.27
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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