Yoruba Olumeye Figure, Kneeling Bowl Bearer, Nigeria
West Africa, Nigeria, Yoruba, ca. 1800–1920 CE. A kneeling woman rises from an integral circular pedestal, both hands steadying a deep hemispherical bowl incised with radiating hatch panels. Carved in wood with a burnished warm brown surface, she wears a tall crested sagittal coiffure, projecting breasts, a relief-carved chin, and dense keloid scarification across the whole of her back, all quickened with indigo-blue pigment that also picks out her bracelets and the bowl's incising. Inset metal forms the pupils, lending the gaze its alertness. Figures of this type, known as olumeye, served in shrines as offering bearers to deities and ancestors, and in palace contexts where the bowl held kola nuts presented to honored guests. Size: 12.25" H (31.1 cm H).
Indigo held exceptional value in Yoruba aesthetics. Locally cultivated and later supplemented by imported dyes, the color carried connotations of prestige, coolness, and spiritual potency, and its application to coiffure, ornament, and incised pattern marks the figure as a person of consequence rather than a generic attendant.
The olumeye ("one who knows honor") embodies the Yoruba conception of ideal womanhood: composed, kneeling in the posture of respect and prayer, generous with what she carries. Elaborate coiffure and body markings are not decoration alone but statements of lineage, initiation, and social standing, the outward signs of iwa, or good character, which Yoruba thought holds inseparable from beauty.
Provenance: Ex. Michael Oliver, NYC.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73460
Condition
Deep burnished warm brown patina, some of her facial detail lost from handling and rubbing; age cracks.
Buyer's Premium
30%
West Africa, Nigeria, Yoruba, ca. 1800–1920 CE. A kneeling woman rises from an integral circular pedestal, both hands steadying a deep hemispherical bowl incised with radiating hatch panels. Carved in wood with a burnished warm brown surface, she wears a tall crested sagittal coiffure, projecting breasts, a relief-carved chin, and dense keloid scarification across the whole of her back, all quickened with indigo-blue pigment that also picks out her bracelets and the bowl's incising. Inset metal forms the pupils, lending the gaze its alertness. Figures of this type, known as olumeye, served in shrines as offering bearers to deities and ancestors, and in palace contexts where the bowl held kola nuts presented to honored guests. Size: 12.25" H (31.1 cm H).
Indigo held exceptional value in Yoruba aesthetics. Locally cultivated and later supplemented by imported dyes, the color carried connotations of prestige, coolness, and spiritual potency, and its application to coiffure, ornament, and incised pattern marks the figure as a person of consequence rather than a generic attendant.
The olumeye ("one who knows honor") embodies the Yoruba conception of ideal womanhood: composed, kneeling in the posture of respect and prayer, generous with what she carries. Elaborate coiffure and body markings are not decoration alone but statements of lineage, initiation, and social standing, the outward signs of iwa, or good character, which Yoruba thought holds inseparable from beauty.
Provenance: Ex. Michael Oliver, NYC.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73460
Condition
Deep burnished warm brown patina, some of her facial detail lost from handling and rubbing; age cracks.
Buyer's Premium
30%
