{"data":{"id":102611,"api_model":"artworks","api_link":"https:\/\/api.artic.edu\/api\/v1\/artworks\/102611","is_boosted":true,"title":"Veranda Post (\u00d2p\u00f3 \u00d2g\u00f2g\u00e1)","alt_titles":null,"thumbnail":{"lqip":"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAwAFAPMAAGhdU25lW2xoZXl1b3JycnV1dXh3d3l5eX18e359fH5+foCAf4GAgIKCgoODgwAAACH5BAAAAAAAIf8LSW1hZ2VNYWdpY2sOZ2FtbWE9MC40NTQ1NDUALAAAAAADAAUAAAQKsKW2hgzoAENEiQA7","width":5792,"height":8688,"alt_text":"Wooden sculpture of seated king surrounded by family."},"main_reference_number":"1984.550","has_not_been_viewed_much":false,"boost_rank":56,"date_start":1910,"date_end":1914,"date_display":"1910-14","date_qualifier_title":"","date_qualifier_id":null,"artist_display":"Olowe of Ise (died 1938)\nY\u00f2r\u00f9b\u00e1: \u00c8k\u00ect\u00ec; Ikere, Nigeria\nCoastal West Africa","place_of_origin":"Ikere","description":"<p>One of four posts sculpted for the palace of the king (<em>ogoga<\/em>) of Ikere, this evocative image of the Yoruba concept of a divine ruler is a masterwork of Olowe of Ise. The renowned artist\u2019s dynamic style can be distinguished by the interrelationships between figures, their exaggerated proportions, and the use of open space. The sculptor\u2019s diminutive portrayal of the king suggests his dependence on others, and his crown has been emphasized to evoke the spiritual power residing within it.  The towering image of the king\u2019s senior wife standing behind him underscores her superior status as a guardian of her husband\u2019s interests, endowed with keen political understanding and supernatural knowledge. She would have placed the crown on the king\u2019s head during his enthronement ceremony. The smaller figures at the king\u2019s feet represent one of his junior wives and the flute-playing trickster god Eshu.<\/p>\n","short_description":null,"dimensions":"152.5 \u00d7 31.8 \u00d7 40.6 cm (60 \u00d7 12 1\/2 \u00d7 16 in.)","dimensions_detail":[{"depth":40,"width":31,"height":152,"diameter":null,"clarification":null}],"medium_display":"Wood and pigment","inscriptions":null,"credit_line":"The Art Institute of Chicago, Major Acquisitions Centennial Fund","catalogue_display":null,"publication_history":"Eva L. R Meyerowitz, \u201cWood-carving in Yoruba Country Today,\u201d Africa 14, no. 2 (April 1943), pp. 66-70 (in-situ).\n\nWilliam Fagg and Margaret Plass, African Sculpture, (Studio Vista, a Dutton Vista Paperback, 1964), p. 91 (in-situ).\n\nEsther Pasztory, \"Hieratic Composition of West African Art,\" The Art Bulletin, 52 (1970), pp. 209-306, pl. 4 (in-situ).\n\nJacqueline DeLange, The Art and Peoples of Black Africa (E.P. Dutton & Co., 1974), pl. 76.\n\nWilliam Fagg and John Pemberton, Yoruba Sculpture of West Africa (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982), p. 160 (in-situ).\n\nJ.C. Moughtin, ed., The Work of Z.R. Dmochowski: Nigerian Traditional Architecture, exh. cat. (Ethnographica, 1988), p. 37 (in-situ).\n\nJohn Pemberton III, \"Art and Rituals for Yoruba Sacred Kings,\" Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 15, 2 (1989), pp. 96\u2013111 (ill.).\n\nZ.R. Dmochowski, An Introduction to Nigerian Traditional Architecture, vol. II, South-West and Central Nigeria (Ethnographica and National Commission of Museums and Monuments Nigeria, 1990), pl. 2.45 (ill.).\n\nRoslyn Adele Walker, \"The Ikere Palace: Veranda Posts by Olowe of Ise,\" African Arts 24, 1 (1991), p. 77.\n\nAntonio Acosta Mallo and Pilar Llull Martinez de Boya, Arte del Africa Negra (Tribal Investigation and Preservation of African Art Center, 1992), p. 141 (ill.).\n\nJohn Picton, \"West Africa and the Guinea Coast,\" in  Tom Phillips, ed., Africa: The Art of a Continent (M\u00fcnich, Berlin, London, New York: Prestel, 1995), pp. 339-340 (ill.).\n\nHerbert M. Cole, \"Africa in the Dictionary of Art,\" African Arts (Winter 1997), p. 63 (ill.).\n\nMoyo 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.).\n\nSuzanne Preston Blier, The Royal Arts of Africa, The Majesty of Form (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998), fig. 66. \n\nHolland Cotter, \"Anonymous Tribal Artisans Look Again,\" New York Times, Arts and Leisure section, Sunday, April 12, 1998.\n\nFrancis Kianka, ed., Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings, exh. cat. (National Museum of African Art, 1998), figs. 10, 11, 12, 16 (ill.).\n\nRaoul Lehuard, \u201cLes Expositions,\u201d Arts D\u2019Afrique Noire, no. 106 (Summer 1998), pp. 45-55; 52 (ill.).\n\nRoslyn A. Walker, Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings (Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, 1998), fig. 4.\n\nKathleen Bickford Berzock, \"African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,\" African Arts 32, 4 (Winter 1999), pp. 30-31, fig. 15 (ill.).\n\nJessica Levin, \"A Balancing Act: Efficacy and Agency in a Yor\u00f9b\u00e1 Stool,\" in Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, Vol. 63 (2004), p. 98, fig. 12. \n\nRichard F. Townsend and Kathleen Bickford Berzock, \u201cThe Art Institute of Chicago New Galleries for African Art and Indian Art of the Americas,\u201d in Tribal Arts 16-1, no. 62 (Winter 2011), p. 67, fig. 21.\n\nBabatunde Lawal, Yoruba (Milan: 5 Continents), 2012, pl. 7.\n\nYomi Ola, Satires of Power in Yoruba Visual Culture (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2013), pp. 47\u201352; 50 (ill.).\n\nConstantine Petridis et al., Speaking of Objects: African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. no. 33, pp. 96-97 (ill.).\n\nConstantine Petridis, \"Making Objects Speak at the Art Institute of Chicago: A New Publication and a Refurbished Arts of Africa Gallery,\" in Tribal Art magazine (No. 99, Spring 2021), p. 110 (ill.).\n\nConstantine Petridis, ed., The Language of Beauty in African Art (Yale University Press, 2022), cat. no. 7, p. 42 (ill.).\n\nA. Byrd et al. eds. Project a black planet : the art and culture of Panafrica (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2024), 23 (ill.).\n\nY. Biro and C. Petridis (eds.). Les arts africains histoire et dynamique (Paris: Citadelles & Mazenod, 2025), p. 463 (ill.). \n\nJames Rondeau (ed.), Highlights of the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2026), cat. no. 117, p. 158 (ill.).","exhibition_history":"New York, Center for African Art, Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought, Sept. 21, 1989\u2013Jan. 7, 1990, cat. 241; traveled to Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 10\u2013Apr. 1, 1990, Washington D.C., National Museum of African Art, May 8\u2013Aug. 26, 1990, Cleveland Museum of Art, Sept. 26\u2013Dec. 9, 1990, New Orleans Museum of Art, Jan. 11\u2013Mar. 24, 1991, and Atlanta, High Museum, Apr. 23\u2013June 16, 1991, Phoenix Art Museum, Sept. 4-Oct. 6.\n\nWashington, D.C., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Anonymous Has a Name:  Olowe of Ise, A Yoruba Court Artist, Mar. 11\u2013Sept. 1, 1998, no cat.\n\nKimbell Art Museum, Forth Worth, Texas, \"The Language of Beauty in African Art\", April 3-July 31, 2022; Art Institute of Chicago, Nov. 20, 2022 - Feb. 27, 2023, cat. no. 7.","provenance_text":"Commissioned by Onijagbo Obasoro Alowolodu, Ogoga (King) of Ikere (r. 1890-1928), Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, c. 1910-1914 [artist Olowe of Ise in residence in Ikere from 1910 to 1914 according to Drewal and Pemberton, and Abiodun, 1989, p. 205, note 237]; by descent to subsequent rulers, Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria and later Federal Republic of Nigeria, until at least 1964 [in situ photographs of the Palace of Ikere from 1937 by Eva Meyerowitz, 1958\/59 by William Fagg, and 1964 by J. Picton, copies in curatorial file; Walker 1998, pp. 22-23]. until 1964; Marvin Chasin, London [email communication Nov. 16, 2020, copy in curatorial object file]; Gaston T. de Havenon (died 1993), New York, N.Y., about 1970-84 [Walker 1998, p. 66]; [on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, May 5, 1981\u2013July 1984 recorded in justification and personal communication Nov. 14, 2011, documented in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 1984.","edition":null,"publishing_verification_level":"Web Cataloged","internal_department_id":43,"fiscal_year":null,"fiscal_year_deaccession":null,"is_public_domain":true,"is_zoomable":true,"max_zoom_window_size":-1,"copyright_notice":null,"has_multimedia_resources":false,"has_educational_resources":false,"has_advanced_imaging":true,"colorfulness":0,"color":{"h":74,"l":58,"s":4,"percentage":2.1859706154675785e-5,"population":11},"latitude":41.879403705668,"longitude":-87.623608690807,"latlon":"41.879403705668,-87.623608690807","is_on_view":true,"on_loan_display":null,"gallery_title":"Research Center Franke Reading Room","gallery_id":2147472240,"nomisma_id":null,"artwork_type_title":"Sculpture","artwork_type_id":3,"department_title":"Arts of Africa","department_id":"PC-1","artist_id":44236,"artist_title":"Olowe of Ise","alt_artist_ids":[],"artist_ids":[44236],"artist_titles":["Olowe of Ise"],"category_ids":["PC-1","PC-109","PC-831"],"category_titles":["Arts of Africa","Art Institute Icons","Essentials"],"term_titles":["wood (plant material)","carving","yoruba","sculpture","divine rulership","wood","arts of Africa","Arts of Africa","Coastal West Africa","pigment","rulers (people)","crowns","sculpting","painting (coating)","african Art","architectural fragment","kings","royalty","african art","carving","people","royal personages","women","architectural sculpture","communities","enthronement","spirit","supernatural","architectural fragments"],"style_id":"TM-6181","style_title":"yoruba","alt_style_ids":["TM-14183","TM-13566","TM-13489"],"style_ids":["TM-6181","TM-14183","TM-13566","TM-13489"],"style_titles":["yoruba","Arts of Africa","Coastal West Africa","african Art"],"classification_id":"TM-13","classification_title":"sculpture","alt_classification_ids":["TM-84","TM-14182","TM-184","TM-13486","TM-440","TM-423"],"classification_ids":["TM-13","TM-84","TM-14182","TM-184","TM-13486","TM-440","TM-423"],"classification_titles":["sculpture","wood","arts of Africa","architectural fragment","african art","carving","architectural sculpture"],"subject_id":"TM-14382","alt_subject_ids":["TM-12865","TM-8778","TM-8797","TM-12150","TM-8810","TM-11484","TM-8735","TM-12093","TM-14383","TM-12939","TM-12867","TM-13367"],"subject_ids":["TM-14382","TM-12865","TM-8778","TM-8797","TM-12150","TM-8810","TM-11484","TM-8735","TM-12093","TM-14383","TM-12939","TM-12867","TM-13367"],"subject_titles":["divine rulership","rulers (people)","crowns","kings","royalty","people","royal personages","women","communities","enthronement","spirit","supernatural","architectural fragments"],"material_id":"TM-2431","alt_material_ids":["TM-2509"],"material_ids":["TM-2431","TM-2509"],"material_titles":["wood (plant material)","pigment"],"technique_id":"TM-3863","alt_technique_ids":["TM-12999","TM-4005"],"technique_ids":["TM-3863","TM-12999","TM-4005"],"technique_titles":["carving","sculpting","painting (coating)"],"theme_titles":["Art Institute Icons","Essentials"],"image_id":"fec5d023-0b46-45df-eb57-cbf64e24121d","alt_image_ids":["d5444d06-b2f6-4eea-d1d1-d2d1f9bfdda0","fe720abd-6e68-e838-9cc8-009405f2e914","1bea7344-642c-8f86-0c15-a223aeb238aa","343217ef-af8e-010d-d374-e87d791944a4","cedc1325-9de5-cf82-76e5-8d48a624670a","3ef979dd-1ae8-f229-e6e6-1580bbf7fb12","d89cbf8a-1ddb-ab72-26de-ecd9e32ce06b","49659d74-ffdf-689e-ddcb-cb41f26e670f"],"document_ids":[],"sound_ids":["7fcd707c-97e9-67b2-07f6-9f8d7a96d9cd"],"video_ids":[],"text_ids":[],"section_ids":[],"section_titles":[],"site_ids":[],"suggest_autocomplete_boosted":"Veranda Post (\u00d2p\u00f3 \u00d2g\u00f2g\u00e1)","suggest_autocomplete_all":[{"input":["1984.550"],"contexts":{"groupings":["accession"]}},{"input":["Veranda Post (\u00d2p\u00f3 \u00d2g\u00f2g\u00e1)"],"weight":43687,"contexts":{"groupings":["title"]}}],"source_updated_at":"2026-08-12T12:00:18-05:00","updated_at":"2026-08-31T13:47:26-05:00","timestamp":"2026-09-01T19:11:53-05:00"},"info":{"license_text":"The `description` field in this response is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License (CC-By) and the Terms and Conditions of artic.edu. 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