Bronze bangle. Yoruba, Nigeria. ø 8.5 cm. Presumably for the Ogboni secret society from the Ijebu region, decorated with four heads that merge into human hands with appendages and probably signify a reversal of the mudfish-leg motif that originally originated in Benin and spread from there to the surrounding ethnic groups. According to oral tradition, Oba Ohen's legs, who lived in the 14th or 15th century, were paralyzed after an intercourse he had with the wife of a chief. The weavers (who were also healers) then wrapped his legs thickly with cloth, which also served as a camouflage for his ailment. The weavers were then given the status of a special guild (owina n'ido), who in turn also used the mudfish motif in their fabrics (inv. no. 075). Gray-green patina with remnants of verdigris, intact. Provenance: Ex Coll. Mareidi and Gert Stoll, Munich, inv. no. 075.
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