Veranda post depicting a kneeling female supporting an infant on her lap, Effon-Alaiye, Nigeria

Object Details

Local Numbers: EENG-II-22, 8A.
General: Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note: Typed index card reads, "T 2 Yrb. Yoruba, Ekiti. Nigeria, Efon Alaye. Veranda post in the impluvial courtyard of the palace. Carved by Agbonbiofe Adeshina, circa 1916. 5/1970. EE. neg.no. II-22, 8A." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.

See more items in: Eliot Elisofon Field collection; Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Nigeria

Archival Repository: Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Type: Archival materials; Negatives (photographic); Black-and-white negatives; Negatives

Collection Citation: Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

Collection Rights: Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Scope and Contents: "In the first quarter of the twentieth century, Efon-Alaiye was the center of carving in southern Ekiti. Its most famous workshop was in the compound of the Adesina family, which was widely known not only for its carvers but also for its beadworkers. The various images for mothers, hunters, warriors, and their gods express historical and cultural themes central to the development of Yoruba civilization. The equestrian figures evoke the impact of warfare in the formation of Yoruba kingdoms from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, while the maternity image signals one of the many roles of women. Women and men are the pillars, opo, of society, both literally and figuratively as seen in veranda posts. They sustain society and, at the same time, shape and re-create it through the efficacy of their actions and the power of their aesthetic visions." [Drewal H. J., Pemberton J. III, Rowland Abiodun, 1989: Yoruba. Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought; The Carvers of the Northeast. Harry N. Abrams Inc.]. This work may be attributed to a member of the Adesina family, probably the master carver Agbonbiofe, who died in 1945. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.

Collection Restrictions: Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.