The figure depicts a man astride a horse. The figure astride a horse has been variously identified:
1. An emissary from the north
2. Orunmila, the god of wisdom and divination
3. A blacksmith, and
4. Oranmiyan, the legendary warrior who founded the ruling dynasties of Benin and Oyo.
Although horses do not survive for long in the forested regions of Benin or Ife due to the prevalence of diseases transmitted by tsetse flies, they are associated with military power and specifically with Oranmiyan, who is said to have procured them from the north (perhaps from Kanem or Bornu). Today, the facial marks on the figure are often associated with the Yagba or Nupe peoples.