Deux poteaux de véranda "opo ile", chacun sous la forme d'une Maternité ·  Nigéria, Yoruba, Ekiti · ID: 3052611

Description

wood, pigments, a) seated figure with three children, loss, h: 139 cm;
b) kneeling figure carrying a child on her back, losses (right side of the body), rest., h: 142 cm; both figures show traces of weathering and insect damage

The veranda post is an architectural element primarily found in palace courtyards and at the entrances of “orisha” shrines—spaces that are both privileged and sacred.

In addition to their functional role, these posts also served an important symbolic purpose: to represent royal power and authority. Representation of the King, his family and his retinue showed the sovereign’s descent from important ancestors, wheras mother-figures are mostly representations of the queen mother: the continuity of the dynasty was embodied in the origin of the future king.

Veranda posts rank among the most important and outstanding sculptures in Yoruba art.

For a comparable post from the Charles Benenson Collection, see AHDRC 0106039.