Processions of the Oba and his retinue were a spectacle of sight and sound. Here, the Oba is confidently posed in the center, weighed down with weapons and regalia, including a staff with rattling bells. A Portuguese soldier, and the king's attendants bearing shields and swords, stands nearby. The harp player in the upper right corner may indicate that this is a rare appearance by Oba Ewuakpe, remembered as a weak ruler who consoled himself by continually listening to harp music.
Exhibition Historyexhibition history Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Documents International: Reflections in the Mirror: A World of Identity, Apr. 23, 1998 - June 20, 1999.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, African Panoplies: Art For Rulers, Traders, Hunters and Priests, Apr. 20 - Aug. 14, 1988.
Los Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art In Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, Apr. 21 - July 30, 1974).
Cleveland, Ohio, The Cleveland Museum of Art, African TribalImages: The Katherine White Reswick Collection, July 10 - Sept. 1, 1968 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Museum, Oct. 10 - Dec. 1, 1968).