Headdress (Jagún Jagún)
Yoruba
1834–1900
- Medium
- Wood, iron, nails, fiber, and sacrificial materials
- Dimensions
- Figure and Shield: 110.5 × 38.1 × 43.2 cm (43 1/2 × 15 × 17 in.)
- Genre
- headdress
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
headdressshrineritualiron (metal)yorubaanimalsfiberwarfaremaskswood (plant material)african Artarts of AfricaCoastal West Africacarvingritual objectshorseback ridingadhesionceremonial objectwarriorscostumesacrificial materialmetal
About
This imposing sculptural headdress would have been worn in masquerades honoring Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron, warfare, and technology. It was also part of a shrine where offerings of yams were applied to its surface. Ogun is depicted as a warrior on horseback who carries a shield with four human heads, possibly slain enemies. The smaller figure playing a flute represents Eshu, the divine messenger and god of human destiny.
