96 - Veranda post

Veranda post depicting a mother and child and a figure attributed to Eshu Wood, thick, aged patina from libations, signs of age, small chips and erosion. Yoruba, Nigeria. H: 142 cm Provenance: Yves Créhalet Collection, Paris. A mother-and-child figure in the lower section and a kneeling figure, likely the god Eshu, dominate the composition. His ape-like expression and his arms holding an attribute—likely a flute held horizontally beneath his chin—lend him an attentive and protective presence. The superimposition of the figures and their symbolic arrangement give rhythm to the verticality of the whole. In Yoruba architecture, carved posts support the verandas of palaces and religious buildings. The combination of a mother figure and what is likely a depiction of Eshu—the messenger between humans and the deities—evokes here the continuity of the community and its protection. General Bibliography: John Pemberton III, “Eshu-Elegba: The Yoruba Trickster God,” *African Arts*, vol. 9, no. 1, October 1975, pp. 20–27, 66–70, and 90–92.