OLOWE OF ISE EKITI

OLOWE OF ISE EKITI

The man in this photograph lived in the last century. He was born by a slave mother in Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State and sent later to serve as a servant in the palace of Arinjale of lse Ekiti.

That was where he developed his talent as a carver. He made his name as a renowned carver of doors, veranda posts and decorative pillars in the palaces of Ekiti and Akoko.

His fame has however gone afield to the rest of the world. I once viewed the exhibition of his works at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC and I was awed.

Baba Olowe was a great carver and his works are incredible and have been celebrated all over the world by art critics.

A critic said this of him: "Olowe of lse, became a widely celebrated artist for his virtuosity of invention and design developed through the production of a range of notable and important royal commissions in the early 20th century."

Oddly enough he is not even known, remembered or recognized in his home Ekiti State. Most of his works which survived are now held in museums and private collections in America and Europe.