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Container (Opon)

Image Coming Soon

Container (Opon)

late 19th-early 20th century

A mounted warrior is armed with weapons that also function as a handle, allowing him to be opened up. Inside, kola nuts would be stored, ready to be broken at the beginning of a social exchange. Chewing on them delivers a strong dose of caffeine to stimulate conversation.
Wood, pigment
17 1/2 x 22 13/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44.4 x 58 x 17.4 cm)
Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
81.17.618
location
Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Praise Poems: The Katherine White Collection, July 29 - Sept. 29, 1984 (Washington, D.C., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Oct. 31, 1984 - Feb. 25, 1985; Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art, Apr. 6 - May 19, 1985; Fort Worth, Texas, Kimbell Art Museum, Sept. 7 - Nov. 25, 1985; Kansas City, Missouri, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Mar. 8 - Apr. 20, 1986). Text by Pamela McClusky. Cat. no. 1, pp. 10-11, reproduced.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Five Installations on the Fourth Floor: Horses, 1997.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Documents International: Eleven Heads Are Better than One: Sixth Graders Connect with SAM, Apr. 1, 1999 - Apr. 2, 2000.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Untold Story, Nov. 14, 2003 - Nov. 14, 2004.


Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM