Yorùbá
Herbalist’s Staff (Opa osanyin or Opa erinle)
Yoruba, 1933-1966
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Yorùbá
Herbalist’s Staff (Opa osanyin or Opa erinle)
Yoruba, 1933-1966
Physical Qualities
Iron, 26 × 9 5/8 × 7 5/16 in. (66 × 24.5 × 18.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Bernice Barth, Los Angeles
Object Number
2002.607
Forged with a central bird surrounded by a large ring with 15 smaller birds (a 16th missing) with furled wings mounted on short posts. The large central bird is surmounted by an abstract upright anthropomorphic figure on its back.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2002; Bernice Barth from her husband, Arthur H. Barth; Arthur H. Barth Primitive Art, Beverly Hills, CA; purchased in Los Angeles, c. 1970.
"Beyond Flight: Birds in African Art," Dec 20, 2017 - June 17, 2018, BMA, Kevin Tervala.
