Chief's Throne

20th century

Olówè of Isè Yoruba, African, ca. 1870 - 1938

On View

African: Fit for a King, Level 1, North Wing

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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Audio Transcript

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About the Artwork

This is one of only a handful of thrones by Olowe of Ise, a favorite artist of Yoruba kings. Its form merges an English royal throne and a cylindrical Yoruba royal stool. Visitors to the court would have seen the throne from the front, which bears images that communicate the prestige and power of the kingship, such as the royal orchestra singing his praises. Each armrests depicts a colonial officer being transported in a hammock, a reference to a British district commissioner’s visit to the Ikere palace in 1910. The rear of the throne shows women with elaborate coiffures holding their breasts in a traditional form of greeting, diviners, various palace functionaries, and servants transporting royal wealth under guard. The preponderance of women on the back of the throne may be Olowe’s way of alluding to them as the power behind every Yoruba throne.
From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Chief's Throne

Artwork Date 20th century

Artist Olówè of Isè

Life Dates African

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Yoruba

Medium Wood and pigment

Dimensions Overall: 56 5/16 × 23 3/16 × 19 11/16 inches (143 × 58.9 × 50 cm)

Classification Furniture

Department African Art

Credit Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund, and with funds from Robert B. Jacobs

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2008.47

Markings

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Provenance

Jean L. David (Switzerland);
2008-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition 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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Published References

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We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Olówè of Isè, Chief's Throne, 20th century, wood and pigment. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund, and with funds from Robert B. Jacobs, 2008.47.