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Veranda Post of Enthroned King and Senior Wife (Opo Ogoga)1910/14
Wood and pigment
152.5 x 31.75 x 40.6 cm (60 x 12 1/2 x 16 in.)
Major Acquisitions Centennial Fund, 1984.550
This veranda post is one of four sculpted for the palace at Ikere by the renowned Yoruba artist Olowe of Ise. It is considered among the artist's masterpieces for the way it embodies his unique style, including the interrelationship of figures, their exaggerated proportions, and the open space between them. While the king is the focal point, his portrayal suggests a ruler's dependence on others. The stately female figure behind the king represents his senior wife. Her large scale and pose, with hands on the king's throne, underscore her importance. She had the critical role of placing the power-invested crown on the king's head during his coronation. Moreover, the senior wife used political acumen and spiritual knowledge to protect the king's interests during his reign. The small figures at the king's feet represent a junior wife, the flute-playing trickster-god Esu, and a fan bearer, now missing.
Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories
Exhibition History
New York, Center for African Art, Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought, October 1989–January 7, 1990, cat. pp. 204, 208; traveled to Art Institute of Chicago, February 10–April 1, 1990, Washington D.C., National Museum of African Art, May 8–August 26, 1990, Cleveland Museum of Art, September 26–December 9, 1990, New Orleans Museum of Art, January 11–March 24, 1991, and Atlanta, High Museum, April 23–June 16, 1991.
Washington, D.C., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Anonymous Has a Name: Olowe of Ise, A Yoruba Court Artist, March 11–September 1, 1998, no cat., brochure, fig. 4.
Publication History
Eva L. R Meyerowitz, Woodcarving in Yoruba Country Today, Africa, vol. 14 (Oxford University Press, 1943).
William Fagg and Margaret Plass, African Sculpture, (Studio Vista, a Dutton Vista Paperback, 1964), p. 91.
Esther Pasztory, "Hieratic Composition of West African Art," The Art Bulletin, 52 (1970), pl. 4.
Jacqueline DeLange, The Art and Peoples of Black Africa (E.P. Dutton & Co., 1974), pl. 76.
William Fagg and John Pemberton, Yoruba Sculpture of West Africa (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982), p. 160.
Art Institute of Chicago, Mosaic: Bi-Monthly Survey of the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, March/April 1985), p. cover.
Art Institute of Chicago, African Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 1985).
Richard F. Townsend, African Sculpture: The Art Institute of Chicago {In-gallery information sheet] (Art Institute of Chicago, 1985).
Robert Farris Thompson, Perspectives: Angles on African Art (The Center for African Art, 1987).
J.C. Moughtin, ed., The Work of Z.R. Dmochowski: Nigerian Traditional Architecture, exh. cat. (Ethnographica, 1988), p. 37.
Henry Drewal, John Pemberton, and Rowland Abiodun, Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought, exh. cat. (Center for African Art, 1989), pp. 204, 208.
John Pemberton, "Art and Rituals for Yoruba Sacred Kings," Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 15, 2 (1989) pp. 96–111.
Z.R. Dmochowski, An Introduction to Nigerian Traditional Architecture, vol. II, South-West and Central Nigeria (Ethnographica and National Commission of Museums and Monumnents Nigeria, 1990), pl. 2.45 (ill.).
Roslyn Adele Walker, "The Ikere Palace: Veranda Posts by Olowe of Ise," African Arts 24, 1 (1991), p. 77.
Antonio Acosta Mallo and Pilar Llull Martinez de Boya, Arte del Africa Negra (Tribal Investigation and Preservation of African Art Center, 1992), p. 141.
Henry John Drewal, "Yoruba," in The Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane Turner (Grove's Dictionaries, 1996), p. 554.
William R. Rea, "African Art," in International Encyclopedia of Art (Cynthia Mirabel Publishing, 1996), p. 41.
Herbert M. Cole, "Africa in the Dictionary of Art," African Arts (Winter 1997), p. 63.
Moyo Okediji, "Art of the Yoruba," African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 23, 2 (1997), pp. 168-169, no. 25 (ill.)..
Holland Cotter, "Anonymous Tribal Artisans Look Again," New York Times, Arts and Leisure section, Sunday, April 12, 1998.
Francis Kianka, ed., Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings, exh. cat. (National Museum of African Art, 1998), figs. 10, 11, 12, 16 (ill.).
National Museum of African Art, Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings (National Museum of African Art, 1998), fig. 4 (ill.).
National Museum of African Art, Calendar (National Museum of African Art, Spring 1998), p. cover.
Kathleen Bickford Berzock, "African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago," African Arts 32, 4 (Winter 1999), pp. 30-31, fig. 15 (ill.).
Matthews and Platt, The Western Humanities, 4th ed. (Mayfield Publishing Company, 2000).
Mackenzie, Non-Western Art, 2nd ed. (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2001).
Jean Sousa, Looking at Art Together: A Parent Guide, (Art Institute of Chicago, 2002), pp. cover, 41 (ill.).
Matthews and Platt, The Western Humanities, 5th ed. (McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2003).
Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago: The Essential Guide, revised ed. (Art Institute of Chicago, 2003), p. 24 (ill.).
Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art, 8th ed. (Longman Publishers & Pre-Press Company, 2004).
Gene Mittler, Art in Focus, 5th ed. (Gencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005).
Art Institute of Chicago, Yoruba Masquerade (Art Institute of Chicago, n.d.).
Art Institute of Chicago, Bookmark (Art Institute of Chicago, n.d.).
Art Institute of Chicago, Portraits: Face to Face, Family Self Guide (Art Institute of Chicago, n.d.), pp. cover, 1. (ill.).
Princeton University Art Museum, Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University (Princeton University Art Museum, n.d.).
Art Institute of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago Pocket Guide (Art Institute of Chicago, 2009), p. 2 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago The Essential Guide (Art Institute of Chicago, 2009), p. 16 (ill.).
Ownership History
Onijagbo Obasoro Alowolodu, Ogaga (King) of Ikere (reigned 1890-1928), Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, from 1914; by descent to his heirs, Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria and later Federal Republic of Nigeria, until at least 1964 [in situ photographs from 1937, 1959, and 1964, copies in curatorial file]. Gaston T. de Havenon (died 1993), New York, by 1981 [documentation in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 1984.