African Tribal Art: Yoruba People, Nigeria: Shrine Figure of a Kneeling Sango (Shango) devotee with double-axe (opa) headdress and satchel, holding an ose Sango (a wooden shaft with a double ax-head motif at the summit) Early/Mid 20th Century. Carved wood with dark patina and traces of blue pigment.

Devotee figures are placed on altars dedicated to the god Shango, whose emblem is a double-headed axe. The form of the axe originated in the belief that he controls thunderbolts. His followers are shown in attitudes of devotion, serenely balancing the god's twin thunderbolts, which represent Shango's power and blessings, upon their heads.

28H x 9W x 8D (inches).

Private Collection, Massachusetts, Private Collection, New York

Good condition. Minor abrasions, minor wood loss on the base.

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