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Shrine Post (òpó)

Shrine Post (òpó)

Unknown

This shrine post from the town of Èfòn Àláyè in the Ekiti region of Nigera expresses the Yorùbá concept of balanced duality: The female carries a vessel of sacred water; the male plays a flute to call the gods (òrìsà). Placed with other sculpted posts to create a screen in front of a shrine, it marked the entrance to the altar within.
Artist
Unknown (Nigerian, Yorùbá People)
Title
Shrine Post (òpó)
Date
ca. 1940
Medium
Wood and iron
Dimensions
42 x 4 1/4 x 4 1/2 in. overall
Credit
J. David and Laura Seefried Horsfall Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
1991.31
Classification
Sculpture
Geography
Nigeria

Related

between 1989 and March 1991, sold by Tony Okoroafor (Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria) to dealer David A. Ackley (Ypsilanti, MI); 1991, sold by David A. Ackely (Ypsilanti, MI) to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called the Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Exhibition gallery guide, "Revealing Forms: African Art from the Elvehjem Collection." 2002.
  • Drewal, Henry John. "African Art at the Elvehjem." Bulletin/Biennial Report 2001-2003. Elvehjem Museum of Art (2003): 16-36. pp. 16-36
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Artscene." Vol. 7, No. 4, Sept/Oct 1991.
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Bulletin/Annual Report 1989-1991." Madison: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1991. p. 157

  • Revealing Forms: African Art from the Collection: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 4/20/2002–6/16/2002

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