Object Details
Maker
Yoruba artist
Label Text
This bracelet, one of a pair, may have been part of the regalia of the Olowo of Owo, a Yoruba king. The motifs evoke the spiritual forces that shape the world and are controlled by the ruler. The head with creatures issuing from the nostrils suggests the loosing of inner spiritual forces. Similarly the fish-legged figure is a being that transcends the realms of land and water and symbolizes Olokun, god of the sea.
Description
One of pair of ivory bracelets with carved human-like figures and animals covering the entire surface. Each opening has small knobby carvings around the entire edge.
Provenance
John Jamieson, ca. 1850
Harry G. Beasley (1882-1939), Cranmore Ethnographical Museum, Chislehurst, Kent, England, -- to 1975
Paul and Ruth Tishman, New York, 1975 to 1984
Exhibition History
Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 4, 2017-ongoing
African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 15, 2007-March 31, 2009
First Look: The Walt Disney-Tishman Collection of African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 17-December 3, 2006
Art of the Personal Object, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1991-April 9, 2007
African Ivories. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 26, 1984-December 30, 1984
For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
Published References
Ezra, Kate. 1984. African Ivories. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 23, fig. 21, cat. no.23.
Graves Son & Pilcher. 1975. The Collection of Tibetan ritual art, Oceanic, Haida, Eskimo, Benin, Maori and Asian artifacts formally at the Cranmore Ethnographical Museum, Chislehurst, Kent, formed by the late Harry G. Beasley, 1882-1939 ... 3rd March 1975. Palmeira Auction Room, Hove. Brighton: Dolphin Press, lots 214-215.
Jenke, Veronika. 2007. Explore! African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Exhibition booklet. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 18.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen, Bryna Freyer and Andrea Nicolls. 2007. African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 116, 192-193, fig. 45, no. 65.
Patton, Sharon F. 2005. "Disney-Tishman: Gift to the Smithsonian Institution." Tribal Art X:2 (39), p. 63, no. 6.
Patton, Sharon F. and Bryna Freyer. 2008. Treasures 2008. Washington D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 42-43.
Robbins, Warren M. and Nancy Ingram Nooter. 1989. African Art in American Collections. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 228, no. 585.
Ross, Doran (ed). 1992. Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, p. 202, no. 9-19.
Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 128-129, no. 71.
Content Statement
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Credit Line
Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
Date
16th-18th century
Object number
2005-6-7.2
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Jewelry
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7.9 x 13.2 x 13.2 cm (3 1/8 x 5 3/16 x 5 3/16 in.)
Geography
Owo, Nigeria
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
Exhibition
Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts
On View
NMAfA, Second Level Gallery (2193)
Data Source
National Museum of African Art
Topic
Leadership
mudfish
male
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmafa_2005-6-7.2