Olowe of Ise | Veranda Post (Fun Fact Friday)

The bulk of Olowe’s carvings seem to have been both decorative and functional artworks for the Yoruba kings and prominent families. One of his celebrated works for example is the veranda post that sits in the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. In that piece we see the elongated neck and oval faces that were a part of his signature style. Traditionally Yoruba artists used scale and proportion to indicate hierarchy. The more important a figure, the larger they are within the composition. The status of the king’s senior wife is shown by her size while the king is seated central to the post. His crown eye level to the viewer and the king sits with his feat up above the ground signifying his transcendent nature. His eyes are cast down expressing a contemplative mood as he looks down on the world beyond. The crown has four ancestral faces signifying the legitimacy of his royal lineage, the divine line and wisdom running through it.

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