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Caption

  • The head of a carved wooden figure with long, braided hair.
  • A carved wooden figure with long hair, kneeling and holding a staff shaped like a flute with the word idol painted on its shaft.
  • The side of a carved wooden figure with long hair, kneeling and holding a staff shaped like a flute.

Carved figure of Eshu

About 19th century

Wood, iron

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Description

Eshu is a Yoruba Abeokuta god representing paradox and uncertainty. In the Yoruba religion, Eshu enforces the will of the creator and helps those in need. Christians misinterpreted him as the devil, perhaps due to his reputation as a trickster.

This carved figure, likely from the 19th century, is one of two. It has a female counterpart. They were said to have been ‘presented’ to Reverend Henry Townsend during a journey he took into Yorubaland.

Both figures came to RAMM in 1868. Unfortunately, the female figure was stolen in 1912. It is now in a private collection in the USA.

Visual description: Eshu is a carved deity made from dark brown wood. The figure is 44 centimetres tall, a stylised human form kneeling, holding a staff in front of his body with two hands. The word ‘idol’ is painted down the bottom shaft of the staff. He has two projecting hair elements and is wearing clothes with decorative markings on the edges.

RAMM Treasures Trail - Object 7 - Eshu

Learn about the seventh object in our RAMM Treasures of the Museum trail, Eshu.

Treasures of the Museum: Eshu

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Transcript

Tony Eccles: My name's Tony Eccles and I'm the Curator of Ethnography and responsible for the World Cultures gallery.

In 1868, this museum acquired two carvings called Eshu Elegbare, which comes from Yorubaland in southwestern Nigeria. This is a carved deity, carved by a Yoruban artisan, likely in the 19th century, and is actually one half of an artwork that was created to stand in the palace gateway.

Henry Townsend, who was a missionary, was based in Sierra Leone. He took a journey into Yorubaland. It was there that he set up a Christian mission, and it was during this period of conversion that he had acquired these pieces, the male and female form of Eshu Elegbare.

He's one of the most important deities. You have Olodumare, the creator god, and then under him you have these like angels and saints, if it were. And they're here to teach us things, to warn us, to guide us, to help us.

In 1868, the two pieces came to us, but in 1912, the female piece was stolen. And we don't know when, we don't know who by, but we have a letter written by the police stating our loss. So it has been found. We've got a beautiful photograph of the female form, and that artistic style is unique, and it now resides in a foundation in New York.

Credits

Watch RAMM staff and volunteers tell us why they love each of the 16 objects, and hear the fascinating stories that make these items so special.

Additional Information

Dimensions
438 mm
Accession Number
E608a

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