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Osun rod (plastic)

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Rods on the Osun altars not only symbolise the power of the plants of the forest, their material, iron, contains this power itself. They were used by ritual specialists in oracles, for healing and above all as a means against witchcraft, an all-encompassing threat. Birds, snakes, chameleons and animal horns filled with dangerous substances illustrate the occult powers.

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Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Osun rod (plastic)
Dimensions
Weight: 12,2 kg
Diameter: 2,5 cm
Height: 178,5 cm
Depth: 22,5 cm
Width: 21 cm
Material/Technique
iron, brass
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 9954

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    18th century-19th century.
    where
    Nigeria
    Benin
  • Collecting
    who
    William Downing Webster (1868-05-11 - 1913-01-14) - Collectors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    Commissioned in the Kingdom of Benin in the 18th or 19th century; ownership before 1897 currently unknown; probably looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; in unknown ownership between Feb. 1897 and 1899; acquired by the Museum of Ethnology from William D. Webster, 1899.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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