Object Details
- Label Text
- Olatunde depicts lions--an uncommon motif in Yoruba art--in his panels and freestanding sculptures. The artist probably appropriated the motif from British colonial heraldic images and from sculptures found on Afro-Brazilian style architecture introduced to Yoruba land by returning freed slaves.
- Description
- Sheet aluminum panel with reverse repousee technique depicting a tree with two large birds, a lion and a snake. The work is signed and dated bottom center: "Asiru Olatunde 1966."
- Provenance
- Bernice M. Kelly, Washington, D.C., purchased Lagos, Nigeria from Jean Kennedy Wolford, 1967 or 1968 to 1995
- Exhibition History
- Artful Animals, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009-July 25, 2010
- A Concrete Vision: Oshogbo Art in the 1960s, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 23-October 22, 2000
- Published References
- National Museum of African Art. 2000. A Concrete Vision: Oshogbo Art in the 1960s. Exhibition booklet. Washington, D.C: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution (not illustrated).
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Asiru Olatunde, 1918-1993, born Nigeria
- Date
- 1966
- Credit Line
- Gift of Bernice M. Kelly
- Medium
- Aluminum
- Dimensions
- H x W: 38.4 x 48.8 cm (15 1/8 x 19 3/16 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
