About the lot N° 53
Title : Cavalier Yorouba Yoruba Horse And Rider
Provenance : Félix Fénéon, ParisLouis Carré, ParisMaurice Delafosse, ParisKnoedler Gallery, New YorkSachs Gallery, New York, 26 février 1940Anne Laurie Crawford, New YorkRussel B. Aitken, New York (1910-2002)Christie's, New York, 3 Avril 2003, The Russell B. Aitken Collection of African, American Indian and Oceanic Art, lot 58 Literature : Clouzot, H. et Level, A., L'Art Indigène des Colonies Françaises et du Congo Belge au Pavillon de Marsan en 1923, in L'Amour de l'Art, Paris, janvier 1924, p.21Clouzot, H. et Level, A., Sculptures Africaines et Océaniennes, Paris, 1925, Vol.1, Pl.XXXXIDelafosse, M., Civilisations Nègres Africaines, Paris, 1925, Vol.1Rivière, G.H., Archéologismes, in Cahiers d'Art, Paris, septembre, 1926, p.177Delafosse, M., Les Nègres, Paris, 1927, Vol.1, Pl.38Sweeney, J.J. (Ed.), African Negro Art, New York, 1935, no.239Jacques Seligmann Gallery, Exhibition of Sculptures of Old African Civilizations, New York, 1936, p.14, no.110Cheney, S., A World History of Art, New York, 1937, p.29Hoffman, M., Sculpture Inside & Out, New York,1939, p.48, pl.33Radin, P. et Sweeney, J.J., African Folktales and Sculpture, New York, 1952, Pl.59 (photographié par Walker Evans)Masterpieces of African Art, Brooklyn, 1954, no.111Sweeney, J.J., African Sculpture, Princeton, 1964, fig.59Lee-Webb, V., Perfect Documents Walker Evans and African Art, 1935, New York, 2000, p.23, pl.14Chemeche, G., The Horse Rider in African Art, Woodbridge, 2011, fig.133 Notes : f : In addition to the regular Buyer’s premium, a commission of7% (i.e. 7.49% inclusive of VAT for books, 8.372% inclusiveof VAT for the other lots) of the hammer price will becharged to the buyer. It will be refunded to the Buyer uponproof of export of the lot outside the European Union withinthe legal time limit.(Please refer to section VAT refunds)CAVALIER YOROUBAYORUBA HORSE AND RIDERNigeria Hauteur: 39.5 cm. (15½ in.) This is one of the great carvings in the extensive corpus of Yoruba equestrian figures. In spite of the fact that the right arm was lost at an early date, it is nonetheless recognized as the work of a carver of great technical skill and artistic imagination. It has been celebrated in thirteen publications and five exhibitions in Paris and New York during the last nine decades.Among the Yoruba of Nigeria the horse and rider image has been used on large Epa masks carved by Areogun and Bamgboye in northern Ekiti towns in celebration of famous hunter/warriors and chiefs who gained the status of monarchs. On palace veranda posts carved by Olowe and Agbonbiofe in the southern Ekiti towns of Ikerre and Efon Alaye, the equestrian figure and the woman with child are by far the most prominent subjects. The equestrian figure is often found among the sculptures on shrines for orisha Erinle, the hunter/warrior who founded and defended the town of Ilobu in the Ilesha area, as well as on the palace shrine for orisha Ogun, god of iron and war, of the Timi of Ede, and on shrines for orisha Shango, who rides fire (lightning) like a horse. Shango is the patron deity of the Alafin of Oyo, and his shrines are in towns incorporated into the Oyo Empire in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The horse and rider often appear as the central caryatid figure supporting the shallow bowl, agere Ifa, holding sixteen sacred palm nuts, ikin, that diviners use when seeking the guidance of orisha Orunmila, deity of wisdom. Such ritual objects are known to have been carved in wood and ivory in the southeastern Yoruba area of Owo and across the southern areas of Ijebu, Egba, Egbado, and even farther to the southwest in Dahomey.It is difficult to know how this small sculpture was used. The horse's hoofs are placed close together rather than set apart in a normal standing position. While this suggests that the equestrian sculpture stood on another base, when viewed from the proper left side it also reveals an artistic sensibility. The strong vertical line from head to hoofs is inclosed within an oval frame created by the rider's elaborate pigtail, the horse's rear and front legs as well as the horses's head and reins. Furthermore, the vertical and oval are bisected by the horizontal line of the horse's body which is equal in length to the height of the rider from head to toe-an unusual equation in Yoruba equestrian figures.Peter Morton Williams, following the Yoruba historian Samuel Johnson's discussion, notes that the shaved forehead and the long, elaborately woven pigtail of the rider suggest that in the Alafin's court he enjoyed the rank of esho, nobleman of the highest military grade, who was also known as Kakanfo. According to Morton-Williams, it seems clear that the sculptor was familiar with standard Yoruba cavalry equipment (harness, reins, saddle, stirrups) and costume (short tunic and knee-breeches) and the style employed in carving the face suggests the hand of a Ketu carver. In the seventeenth century Oyo forces were moving into the southwestern area as they sought to secure a trade route to the coast, including the trade in slaves. As they established small communities along the route, people from the capital city of Oyo and surrounding towns and villages moved south with the Oyo armies. Passing through Ketu they slowly and seriously influenced the cultural and material life of the indigenous peoples who subsequently became known as the Anago. In their struggle with peoples of Abomey, military and political power shifted back and forth eventually with Oyo finding itself fighting on two fronts-against intrusions on its northern borders and by Dahomey in the southwest.The horseman sits upright upon his mount, holding the woven reins with his left hand and perhaps, as was often the case, the shaft of a lance or spear in his right hand. The rider's facial features are clearly and simply defined-lenticular eyes, triangular ears, contrasting with the smooth surface of cheeks and head, and a carefully trimmed beard jutting forth from his chin. The face contrasts with, yet echoes, the facial features of the animal whose bold, ventricular eyes are vertical. The triangular feature of the ears is repeated, but the ears are positioned upright above a shaggy forehead and square muzzle. There is a delightful play of similarity and contrast between rider and horse, human and animal, reflecting the complementary relationship expressed in an equestrian figure.John Pemberton IIICrosby Professor of Religion, EmeritusAmherst CollegeChristie's, auctioneer, Paris, FR
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Sale title : Art Africain et Océanien
Sale date : 11 Jun 2012
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Sale Reference : Live Sale
