Bracelet

Object Details

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.

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Credit Line

Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company

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)

National Museum of African Art

Topic

Leadership

mudfish

male

Record ID

nmafa_2005-6-7.2

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7e8e277e9-d624-4dcc-964b-28e10269d6ab