West Africa, Nigeria, Yoruba people. A cast bronze female figure, probably removed from a staff, seated on a stool and holding a bird. She wears a tall openwork crest headdress and has prominent bulging eyes and an open mouth; a second head with the same headdress projects from her back, giving the piece a Janus-like quality.

Birds in Yoruba art often refer to the mystical power of women, the ‘mothers’ (àwọn ìyá wa), whose force can protect or destroy. Figures of this kind appear on brass staffs and emblems associated with the Ogboni society and with Orisha shrines. Provenance: William Brill Collection.