Object Details
Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Collection Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Collection Citation
Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
Scope and Contents
"The art of the court is an art of permanence and stability, the goal of which is to glorify the Oba by recording and preserving his great deeds. It is no accident that the preferred material for court art is also the most lasting -bronze. Unlike mud (ulakpa), bronze art is non-natural, imported and costly, and emphatically masculine. In this sense, the mud sculptures contain an inherent contrast -they utilize courtly images of power and stability in a medium which is the antithesis of permanent grandeur." [Ben-Amos P., 1973: Symbolism in Olokun Mud Art; African Arts, Summer 1973, pp. 28-31]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.
sova.eepa.1973-001_ref30438
Local Numbers
EENG-II-13, 32.
General
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note
Typed index card reads, "I 2 Bnn. Benin. Nigeria. Mud figure of Oba Ozolua in front of the Oba's palace. 5/1970. EE. neg.no. II-13, 32." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Place
Africa
Nigeria
Topic
Works of art in situ
Edo-speaking cultures
Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Culture
Bini (African people)
See more items in
Eliot Elisofon Field collection
Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Nigeria
Extent
1 Negatives (photographic) (b&w, 35mm.)
Date
1970
Archival Repository
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Identifier
EEPA.1973-001, Item EEPA EENG 03357
Type
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Black-and-white negatives
Negatives
Collection Rights
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. Where noted, some images remain under the copyright of Life/Shutterstock. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Genre/Form
Black-and-white negatives
Negatives
Collection Restrictions
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
EEPA.1973-001_ref30438
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo78f622cb7-c2dc-439d-bf2e-92e5d0a854c0
EEPA.1973-001
EEPA
Record ID
ebl-1536870822481-1536871016056-4