Kneeling female figure "onile" · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3031103
Vera und Wolfgang Nerlich, Munich, Germany
Description
brass, patina, showing the typical “ogboni” gesture, eyelet for support, traces of corrosion, encrusted with clay;
“onile” figures were kept inside the “oshugbo” houses. They symbolize the founders of the community. According to Witte they were used for delivering decisive messages in case of conflict between “ogboni” members.
The object Kneeling female figure “onile” with the object ID 3031103 was part of the auction 68th tribal art auction on March 3, 2012. The object with the lot number 402 achieved a sales price of EUR 310 with an asking price of EUR 100.
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Comparing literature
Witte, Hans, A Closer Look, Berg en Dal 2004, p. 153