Staff with birds
20th century, 1950–2000
Object PlaceNigeria
Medium/TechniqueIron
DimensionsOverall (without base): 34.5 x 18 x 20 cm (13 9/16 x 7 1/16 x 7 7/8 in.)
Lender Accessory (base): 2 x 8.5 x 9 cm (13/16 x 3 3/8 x 3 9/16 in.)
Lender Accessory (base): 2 x 8.5 x 9 cm (13/16 x 3 3/8 x 3 9/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2714
On View
Not on viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
In earlier settings these staffs were emblems of healers and associated with the Yoruba deity Osanyin, the god of herbal medicines. The fifteen birds clustered around a central avian image are associated with the mystical powers of "Our Mothers" and the divination process, and occur frequently in Yoruba iconography.
Provenance1970s, sold by an unidentified African merchant in Cambridge, MA, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
Artist Unidentified
