  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
  
  
  Copyright
  Copyright Not Evaluated
