This is the rating and price for A Superb Yoruba House Post By Owole, Composed In Two Parts, With

Description : a female figure kneeling on a triangular base with feet tucked beneath, the elongated legs supporting an undulating torso with generous pendant breasts beneath an elongated neck and elegant oval head with upswept incised coiffure, and flanked by two attendants carrying gunpowder containers on the head, her upraised arms supporting the circular base carrying the equestrian figure, the horse wearing elaborately carved saddle and harness, and the figure with a raised triangular spear in one hand and a flywhisk handle in the other, and wearing an intricately carved vest beneath an elongated neck and oval head, with protruding pendant beard, raised mouth with front tooth missing, flattened nose and open, eyes, and wearing an intricately incised backswept pendant coiffure, thick patina of red, white,indigo and white overlaid by a dark encrusted patina. Height 71 in. (1.8 m.) Provenance: Mert Simpson, New York Olowe of Ise (d. 1938) is undoubtedly one of the greatest Yoruba carvers of the twentieth century. He was known throughout Yorubaland and was a highly respected carver in his lifetime. So much so that a number of praise songs were written about his skill, one describes him as, 'The one who carves the hard wood of the iroko tree as though it were a soft calabash ' '(Homberger 1991). Olowe was born in Efon-Alaye, one of the greatest centers of Yoruba carving at the turn of the century. He migrated early in life to the southeast to the town of Ise in southern Ekiti. He worked for the Arinjale, or king, of Ise carving veranda posts, doors, masks and bowls. Based on the geographical breadth of where his carvings have been found, Fagg (1982) and others have suggested that he was lent out by the Arinjale to other kings (see for example the photograph in Fagg 1982:160 showing three posts from the palace of the Ogoga, king of Ikere. Throughout his life Olowe carved works of art with the most complex compositions showing his skill at integrating form and symbolism. Fagg (1982 and elsewhere) wrote that Olowe 's work, carved for the royal palaces, was meant to reinforce the social roles of the people within the palace and those who interacted with the palace. Roslyn Walker 's upcoming catalogue raissonne will document the corpus of Olowe 's work for the first time. The post offered here depicts a kneeling female figure supporting an equestrian figure, a composition which Olowe used on a number of posts. In this particular post Olowe has taken the kneeling female, the support, and turned her, creating an extraordinarily complex composition. By turning the frontal angles of the upper and lower regiment of the sculpture, Olowe has successfully created a sculpture whose symbolism can be read from all sides. Stylistically both figures are of classical Olowe form. His attention to detail in the carving and the elongation in the head and neck of his figures are part of his signature carving style. Furthermore, the undulating angles of the back of the female figure are particularly reminiscent of both the oversized female with two smaller figures and the queen figure from the inner courtyard at the palace of Ogaga (Fagg 1982:160). The figure at the top sits astride a horse holding his implements of authority. The treatment of the head and torso of the equestrian figure, including a single missing tooth on the top center row, is very close to two posts in the Collection Gerd Stoll (Homberger 1991:41). At least three types of patination are found on Olowe posts, one is a deep dark brown natural surface, a second shows a great deal of pigment (see the post of the king and queen, now in the Art Institute of Chicago in (Fagg 1982:160) and a third, including the offered lot, shows a layering of pigments beneath a thick encrusted dark patination (see for example the post in the Harry Franklin Collection (Sotheby 's, April 1990, lot 314) and another in the Nigerian Museum, Lagos and also to the famous divination bowl in the National Museum for African Art (Homberger 1991)).
Price: 354 500.00 USD It's free to register now to view!
Estimate (low-high) : 200000 USD-300000 USD It's free to register now to view!

Details