This ritual phallus would have been placed in the ground to stimulate the growth of crops. It has visible signs of use and aging, and is probably from the late 19th century, or early 20th century.
The Fon people are the largest ethnic group in Benin found particularly in its south region; they are also found in southwest Nigeria and Togo.
The Fon were noted by early 19th-century European traders for their N’Nonmiton practice or Dahomey Amazons – which empowered their women to serve in the military, who decades later fought the French colonial forces in 1890.
The fertility carvings are shaped like a phallus and named for Legba, the trickster god who guards the crossroads, acts as a messenger to the spirit world, and symbolizes creation/communication, linking the earthly and ancestral realms.
The prominent phallus represents generative power, and was
placed in fields to ensure fertility, good crops, and prosperity.
Width: 2 ¼" x Depth: 2 ¾" x Length: 18 ⅛"
Ex. Ambassador Allen Davis Collection, Virginia. Allen Davis - August 23, 1927 ~ February 17, 2025
