The Starcke Collection of African Art
Timed Online Auction, 3 - 19 November 2025
African Art and Artefacts
About this Item
Yoruba Opa Orisha iron staff, Nigeria
height: 74cm excluding base, 76cm including base; width: 21cm; depth: 19cm
forged iron on a perspex base
Notes
Serves as a ritual emblem and offering within shrines dedicated to the deities (orisha). It is most likely associated with Ogun, the Yoruba deity of iron, war, and technology, or with related divinities. The staff symbolizes power, protection, and spiritual communication through iron.
Yoruba ironwork represents a highly developed art form that merges functional craftsmanship with deep spiritual symbolism. The circular arrangement of stylized birds—each rendered with dynamic precision—demonstrates the blacksmith’s mastery and conceptual understanding of communal and cosmic order. This composition may symbolize a gathering of spirits, the unity of ancestral forces, or a ritual assembly of divine beings.
More from The Starcke Collection of African Art
Yoruba male shrine figure, Nigeria
ZAR 40 000 - 60 000
Ewe seated shrine figure with open hands, Ghana
ZAR 1 200 - 1 800
Ewe seated shrine figure with open palms, Ghana
ZAR 2 000 - 3 000
Ashante stool with leopard emblem, Ghana
ZAR 4 000 - 6 000
Iron nail
ZAR 200 - 300
Baule Spirit Spouse, Ivory Coast
ZAR 2 000 - 3 000
