An _Olumeye_ for Ritual Hospitality

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Yoruba have traditionally offered kola nuts to guests in a domestic hospitality ritual or to the deities in the context of religious worship. While gourd containers served these purposes for most people, honored visitors to the palace or other prestigious residences were served from elaborately decorated wooden bowls. The containers are called olumeye in reference to the kneeling female figure holding the bowl.

Olowe of Ise

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The artist who sculpted the kneeling female figure with bowl (2004.16.McD) in the DMA collection was named Olowere. He was commonly known as Olowe of Ise. Ise is the town in which he lived most of his life. He was born around 1875, before vital statistics were routinely recorded in Nigeria and before interviewing artists became customary.

World's Fair

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A World's Fair (also known as a world fair, world exposition, or universal exposition) is an international exhibition of art, design, engineering, and cultural practices that originated in 1851 with "The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations," held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London.

Dallas Art Association

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The following excerpts explain the individuals and events leading to the creation of the Dallas Art Association (DAA) and a city-owned art collection. The complete essay appeared in the DAA's first catalogue after the opening of its first public gallery in Fair Park.

The Mesoamerican Ball Game

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The ball game (Olamaliztli in Classical Nahuatl, pitz in Classical Maya) was centrally important in Mesoamerican ideology, most notably that in the Maya area. Every major city of the Classic period had at least one ball court, and many larger centers had several. The ball courts were a replica of Creation Mountain, placed at the base of the mountain, as the clefted abyss was at the base of the first true Creation Mounta