Lot 205
West Africa, Nigeria, Igbo peoples, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. A fascinating brass ritual object known as an ofo, presenting an abstract form that is seemingly spoon-shaped yet intended to resemble a bundle of ovo twigs and sitting upon 4 petite legs. Elaborately decorated, the intriguing piece displays a pair of suspension loops at one end. The top of the object is heavily adorned with a relief decorative program of target, spiral, plume-like, and undulating motifs. Ofos, like this example, serve as a receptacle of power among higher status families and function as a conduit to their ancestral past. They are highly symbolic objects, representing truth, authority, justice, law, and administrative power and seen as the link that exists between people and God Almighty, as well as a channel between the living, the dead, and those yet to be born. These highly revered objects are treated as heirlooms and passed down from generation to generation. Size: 6.3" L x 2.5" W x 1.7" H (16 cm x 6.4 cm x 4.3 cm)
Similar Ofo shrine figures can be found at the Seattle Art Museum under accession numbers 2007.244 and 2007.245.
Provenance: private Southern California collection, California, USA, acquired through descent in 2006; ex-private California collection, USA, before 2000
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#168129
- Condition: Expected nicks and abrasions throughout, as well as softening of detail, as shown. Otherwise, intact and excellent with rich patina.
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