About the Artwork
The king of Owo, a village in Nigeria, was traditionally the only person who could wear ivory ornaments. This ivory bracelet may have been worn by the king during Ore, an important ancient festival. The female heads may represent Olokun, the goddess of the sea, and the crocodiles may be sacrificial victims for her. The crocodile's ability to both walk on land and swim in water acts as a metaphor for kingship, as it is believed that kings also live in two realms: the world of ordinary life and the world of the gods and spirits.
Armlet
between 16th and 18th century
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African
Yoruba
Ivory
Overall: 1 1/4 × 4 5/16 inches (3.2 × 11 cm)
Jewelry
African Art
Founders Society Purchase, Acquisitions Fund
80.42
Public Domain
Markings
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Provenance
Muller-Van Iterbeek (Brussels, Belgium);Frederic Rolin [F. Rolin and Co.] (Brussels, Belgium);
1980-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
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Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Art d'Afrique dans les Collections Belges. Exh. cat., Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale. Tevuren, Belgium, 1963, no. 663.
African Ivories. Exh. cat., F. Rolin & Co. New York, 1978, no. 52.
Vogel, S.M. "African Ivoris, F. Rolin and Co." African Arts 12, no. 1 (November 1978): p. 97.
Bulletin of the DIA 59, no. 4 (1981): p. 124 (ill.).
Brincard, M., ed. Beauty by Design. Exh. cat., The African-American Institute. New York, 1984, C30 (ill.).
African Masterworks In The Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington and London, 1995, cat. no. 31.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Yoruba, African, Armlet, between 16th and 18th century, ivory. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Acquisitions Fund, 80.42.
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