Ceremonial sword
Nigeria, Yoruba
sold
EUR 1,200
Provenance
Frederick & Claire Mebel, New York City, USAZemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 15 March 2015, lot 332
Size
H: 62 cm
H: 24.4 inch
Description
iron blade, brass-casted grip, depicting a man in full military outfit, smoking a pipe, min. dam., traces of corrosion, small missing parts, base;
probably a so-called “ada ogun” or “sword of ogun”, Lord over iron and weapons, the patron of all Yoruba iron-workers. Kept by the master of the local guild of smiths, it served as an emblem of the craft group.
Comparing literature
Krieger, Kurt, Westafrikanische Plastik, Bd. II, Berlin 1969, ill. 167Publications
Westerdijk, P., African metal implements, weapons, tools and regalia, New York 1984, ill. 34AHDRC: 0123551