Uzo

Antelope
Description

These motifs are sometimes interpreted as Uzo (antelopes) but also as Emila (cows). Both animals share certain characteristics, being regarded as physically beautiful and peaceful creatures. Some Orhiẹvbẹ (kola-nut bowls) take the form of an antelope head with its horns grasped by a pair of hands, a gesture that symbolises the right of humans to sacrifice antelopes and cows with impunity (Ben-Amos Girschick 2007, cat. no. 88, pp. 339, 341).

Uzo primarily symbolise beauty, docility, and their status as permissible sacrificial animals, reinforcing themes of human control over nature and the rituals that underpin social and spiritual order.

Objects with Uzo

18 objects
See all
112_1989844
Institution
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Accession Number
1989.844
Edo designations
Aken'ni Elao
Relief Plaque
Institution
Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria
ID
212552
Edo designations
Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn
Restituted
Relief Plaque
Institution
Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria
ID
212812
Edo designations
Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn
Restituted
Osun Staff
Institution
Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria
ID
214792
Edo designations
Osogan
Restituted
Altar Tusk
Institution
Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt am Main
Inventory no. [ObjInventarNrS]
4256
Edo designations
Aken'ni Elao
Spoon
Institution
Museum Ulm
Titel
Elfenbeinlöffel mit zwei Antilopen
Edo designations
Uhẹnhẹn/Ekuyẹ
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