H x W x D: 102 x 68 x 8.5 cm (40 3/16 x 26 3/4 x 3 3/8 in.)
Type:
Architectural Element
Geography:
Nigeria
Date:
Early 20th century
Label Text:
Damage to the upper portion may have motivated the reshaping of the top of this panel, which was probably the left-hand side of a full-sized door.
Olowe decorated the door with motifs associated with Ifa divination. The lower register has an Ifa divination board on which four faces of Eshu, the messenger god and the god of chance, are depicted. This motif would have been repeated in the missing top register. The central panel depicts eight birds that are symbols of communication with the spiritual realm.
Description:
Door panel composed of arched top section with high relief of eight birds over a low relief of a divination board with four faces.
Provenance:
Fade Mohamed Doumbourga, -- to 1970
Dr. Nicholas Zervas, Milton, Massachusetts, ca. 1970 to 1976
Exhibition History:
Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., March 15-September 7, 1998
Published References:
Elsas, Ellen and Robin Poynor. 1984. Nigerian Sculpture: Bridges to Power. Birmingham: Birmingham Museum of Art, no. 37.
National Museum of African Art. 2007. 2007-2008 School Calendar: Featuring the new Let's Read about Africa and the Sounds of African Music programs. Museum calendar. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, May 2008.
Walker, Roslyn Adele. 1998. Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 53, no. 9.
Walker, Roslyn Adele. 1998. Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings. Exhibition brochure. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, no. 27 (not illustrated).
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