Artwork Details
Artist
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
40-3/8 x 25-5/8 x 3 in.
Accession Number
Credit Line
Gift of the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art with funds from the Roger G. Wolcott Fund and Mr. and Mrs. Theodore P. Van Vorhees Art Fund
Copyright
Collection
Color Palette
Gallery Labels
This small door was originally from an interior court of the palace of the king of Otun. The three registers of low relief carving do not present an overall narrative. Rather, the scenes depict positive images of Yoruba life.
The lowest register shows a priest of Osanyin, the herbalist deity, in the center, with two mothers (with children on their backs) offering a bowl and a chicken. A musician blowing a flute and one playing a side-blown horn flank them.
The central figure of the middle register is a Muslim warrior on horseback. A prisoner floats above his head. A woman and child are to the right, and two figures, one holding Islamic prayer beads and the other playing a side-blown horn, are to the left.
The top register features a British colonial officer as a pipe smoking cyclist. In front of the cyclist is a captive carrying a box, chained to an armed guard seated on the front fender of the bicycle. A seated figure and a drummer are behind the cyclist.
Exhibition History
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
The World Moves - We Follow: Celebrating African Art
Frank H. McClung, University of Tennessee
January 10, 2003 - May 18, 2003
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