Yoruba Shango Scepter, Nigeria

Renée Marteaux, Brussels
By descent from the above
Sotheby's, London, March 26, 1990, lot 100, consigned by the above
Christine Valluet, Paris
Donald Morris, Birmingham, Michigan
Myron Kunin, Minneapolis, acquired from the above on December 21, 1998

In her discussion of a closely related Shango scepter in the Dallas Museum of Art, Walker (2009: 110) notes: "While the figure's pose is conventional, the placement of the double axe at the bottom of the shaft is rare. Only two other wands with this configuration have been published: the Museum Rietberg in Zurich has a Shango that was collected in the Igbomina area and brought to Switzerland by the Basel Mission before 1820, and the other resides in a private collection in London. In contrast to conventional Shango that are held at the shaft, the heads of these wands serve as the handles, resulting in their flattened facial features and smooth surfaces."