Royal Presentation Bowl

early 20th century

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

On View

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

Royal Presentation Bowl: 1 of Collection Gallery

Royal Presentation Bowl: 2 of Collection Gallery

Royal Presentation Bowl: 3 of Collection Gallery

Royal Presentation Bowl: 4 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

This lidded royal presentation bowl, or agere, carved from a single block of wood, was made by the renowned Yoruba sculptor Olowe of Ise. Agere were used to transport gifts between important leaders. The imagery speaks to the identity of the patron, an important diviner, and articulates the enormous spiritual powers controlled by diviners, considered second only to kings in Yoruba society.
Two panels on the base show birds pecking the eyes of human victims, a motif used often by Olowe and likely suggesting the death caused by witches’ nocturnal activities. A free-rolling human head within the space created by the six figures supporting the bowl reinforces the Yoruba belief in the diviner’s powers to counter witchcraft. On the bowl’s lid are “mothers of society,” women who, upon attaining menopause, become capable of influencing human actions. By holding the diviner’s staff upright, they express support for the diviner’s work.
From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Royal Presentation Bowl

Artwork Date early 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 paint

Dimensions Overall: 37 × 19 inches (94 × 48.3 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department African Art

Credit Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund

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. 2007.118

Markings

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Provenance

Araba (Chief Diviner) of Ogbagi Town (Ondo district, Nigeria);
traded to Chief of Ogun-Egbe (Ilesha District, Nigeria);
by inheritence, Chief Lemo Saloro (Ilesha Distict, Nigeria);
September 2006, purchased by (Jean L. David, Galerie Walu,Switzerland);
2007-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

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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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Olówè of Isè, Royal Presentation Bowl, early 20th century, wood and paint. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund, 2007.118.