Most likely created in the 20th century, in the region of Oyo, Nigeria, the Eshu sculpture belongs to a collection of objects which has a Yoruba origin, which encompasses the diverse population of Nigeria and Benin, and whose production is diverse due to both the variety of local styles and the specificities of the studios in the region. Yoruba cultural and religious manifestations are an important part of Brazilian society, because this group constituted a significant portion of the 12 million enslaved Africans who were brought to the Americas during more than three centuries of the Atlantic slave trade. In Brazil, the Yoruba influence is present in different forms of cultural expression, such as music, cuisine, language, and religions, such as Candomblé and Umbanda. The Eshu sculpture, made of shells and leather, and carved from a single block of wood, represents one of the archetypes of this deity: a man playing the flute, with phallic hair and a snake-like head, where his Axé (vital force) is located. Although this Orisha has been demonized in Brazil, in the Yoruba worldview, Eshu represents the balance between opposites, the communicator between Aiê (our world) and Orum (the world of our ancestors and spirits). In Afro-Brazilian rituals, Eshu is the first Orisha to be invoked because Eshu is the lord of the paths, a messenger who seeks the other Orishas and who knows the human essence in all its qualities, without making a moral distinction between good and bad.

— Amanda Carneiro, 2015

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