This pair, male and female, of Yoruba bronze figures are cast from the same hand. Such figures are dedicated to Onile, the 'owner of the earth'. The female figure is depicted sitting on a stool, with a staff in her right hand and her head crowned by an elaborate hairstyle. A baby clings to her back, and in her other hand, the female holds a cockerel.
The male figure is shown riding a horse, with a wand in his right hand. Sitting at the summit of his head is a bird, a motif that appears on Yoruba beaded crowns, in which the symbol of the bird is emblematic of the relationship between leadership and divination, in the same way as a bird mediates between heaven and earth.
Ex Monika Wengraf Collection, London
Estimated Period: Second Half of the 19th Century/Early 20th Century
Height of Female Figure: 25cm
Height of Male Figure: 27cm
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