Altar figure (onílé) (possibly 1700s): Art, History and Details

Altar figure (onílé) (possibly 1700s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This figure of a horse and rider is related to the Ògbóni society, whose responsibilities include the burial of titleholders and leaders and the judgment and punishment of criminals. A counterweight to the authority of the king, it is also responsible for the selection, installation, and removal of rulers. Probably once forming a pair with a female figure, the equestrian symbolized the king’s male ancestors.

Object facts

• Title: Altar figure (onílé)
• Date: possibly 1700s
• Culture: Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá-style maker
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Copper alloy
• Dimensions: with base: 34.3 x 10.8 x 25.4 cm (13 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 10 in.); without base: 31.3 x 10.8 x 25.4 cm (12 5/16 x 4 1/4 x 10 in.)
• Collection: African Art
• Department: African Art
• Accession number: 2007.160

A detail from the museum

Images of horses and riders cast in copper alloy are rare among Yoruba sculptures.

Collection credit

Alma Kroeger Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Dobbelmann, Dr. Theo. A.H.M Het geheime Ogboni-genootschap: Een bronskultuur uit Zuid-West Nigeria. Exhibition catalogue. Berg en Dal, Netherlands: Afrika Museum, 1976: fig. 117, group 14.
• Herreman, Frank, ed. with contributions by Herman Burssens [et al.]. Material Differences: art and identity in Africa. Published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same title organized by the Museum for African Art, New York. New York: Museum for African Art; Snoeck-Ducaju & Zoon, 2003: 100, cat. 94.
• Jacob, Alain and Florin Dragu. Bronzes de l'afrique noir. ABC decor, ABC Collection Series. Pairs: C.P.I.P, 1974: 42.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.