Figural post
Arts of Africa
Figurative posts often support the verandas of distinguished places such as important shrines or the dwellings of kings, titled elders, and priests. Just as a post supports the house, the carved figures represent the individuals who support and uphold the leader in his office.
CULTURE
Yorùbá artist
MEDIUM
Wood, pigment
DATES
late 19th or early 20th century
DIMENSIONS
64 x 9 1/4 x 6 in. (162.6 x 23.5 x 15.2 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Arts of Africa
ACCESSION NUMBER
82.154.1
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Allen A. Davis
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Carved wood figurative housepost painted red-brown, and composed of a seated female figure holding a child at the top. She wears a necklace, ear plugs, and a skirt, and is seated on a circular platform. Beneath her is a figure of an equestrian figure, wearing a baldric, armrings and holds the handle of a flywhisk in his left hand. His cap painted blue. The whisk hangs over his left shoulder. He is seated on a saddle. The horse wears a bridle and stirrups.
Condition: There is an old break through the neck of the female figure that has been repaired, but area is still weak and must be handled with care. There are eroded portions throughout post and checking from age and wear. Right arm of rider is missing.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Yorùbá artist. Figural post, late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, pigment, 64 x 9 1/4 x 6 in. (162.6 x 23.5 x 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Allen A. Davis, 82.154.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 82.154.1_82.154.2_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
group, 82.154.1_82.154.2_SL1.jpg.
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
