A Yoruba boat group by Thomas Ona

A Yoruba boat group by Thomas Ona

Nigeria

with a tiller man, four oarsmen with oars, an umbrella and a colonial figure wearing a wrist watch and holding a large pipe, with pigment decoration,

18.5cm high, 29.5cm long.

Provenance

Michael Graham-Stewart, London, UK.

Thomas Onajeje Odulate c.1900 - 1952, worked in Ikorodu and later in Lagos where he produced large quantities of novel woodcarvings depicting both colonials and Yoruba. The colonial figures included District Officers and other administrators, soldiers, lawyers, missionaries, married couples, some with their pets, polo players and even Queen Victoria. Seen as satirical or as caricatures, Ona once described his works were simply how he viewed the world around him.