The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 23, 2025
Pair of Ritual Staffs (ẹdan Ògbóni)
1800s
Overall: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.)
Location: Not on view
Description
The chain connecting these two figures allows them to be worn in public by a member of the Ògbóni or Òṣùgbó association as authority emblems. The male on the right gives the association’s typical salute by clasping his left fist on the right one, while the female on the left holds her breasts as a sign of welcome and generosity. The use of copper alloy and iron expresses Ògbóni/Òṣùgbó's concerns with longevity and durability. Long iron spikes would have originally protruded from each figure's base.- "CMA Annual Report, 1996" (Cleveland, CMA, 1997) listed p. 46
- {{cite web|title=Pair of Ritual Staffs (ẹdan Ògbóni)|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=23 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.402