Asiru Olatunde, 1918-1993, born Nigeria Search this
Medium:
Aluminum
Dimensions:
H x W: 38.4 x 48.8 cm (15 1/8 x 19 3/16 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Nigeria
Date:
1966
Label Text:
Olatunde depicts lions--an uncommon motif in Yoruba art--in his panels and freestanding sculptures. The artist probably appropriated the motif from British colonial heraldic images and from sculptures found on Afro-Brazilian style architecture introduced to Yoruba land by returning freed slaves.
Description:
Sheet aluminum panel with reverse repousee technique depicting a tree with two large birds, a lion and a snake. The work is signed and dated bottom center: "Asiru Olatunde 1966."
Provenance:
Bernice M. Kelly, Washington, D.C., purchased Lagos, Nigeria from Jean Kennedy Wolford, 1967 or 1968 to 1995
Exhibition History:
Artful Animals, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009-July 25, 2010
A Concrete Vision: Oshogbo Art in the 1960s, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 23-October 22, 2000
Published References:
National Museum of African Art. 2000. A Concrete Vision: Oshogbo Art in the 1960s. Exhibition booklet. Washington, D.C: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution (not illustrated).
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