Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Ann O'Hear Collection, EEPA 2016-004

Summary

Collection ID:
EEPA.2016-004
Creators:
O'Hear, Ann
Dates:
1980-2015
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
34 Slides (photographs)
color
35 mm
2 Digital images
Repository:
Photographs taken by Ann O'Hear of leatherworking and pottery technology in Ilorin, Nigeria, from 1980 to 2015.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection includes photographs taken by Ann O'Hear of leatherworking and pottery technology in Ilorin, Nigeria, from 1980 to 2015.
Images in Series 1 (Leatherworking in Ilorin) depict a saddle, including details of tooling, bridle, triangular decorations for horses, Alh. Imam Idiaro weaving and cutting out a template for use on saddle blankets, and a horse in ceremonial trappings waiting to welcome the Emir of Ilorin, Alh. Sulu Gambari, on his return from a trip abroad. Photographs were taken in Ilorin, including in the areas of Ile Onigaari and Balogun Alanamu.
Series 2 (Pottery Technology in Ilorin) includes images of potters, including Madam Fatimoh, constructing pots at the Ebu Dada pottery center, and in Ile Babaoye, Okelele, and Ile Mulabi, Ilorin.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Images arranged in two series:
  • Series 1: Leatherworking in Ilorin, 1985-1989 (15 slides)
  • Series 2: Pottery Technology in Ilorin, 1980-2015 (29 slides, 2 digital images)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Ann O'Hear is a professor specializing in Nigerian material culture. Following graduation from college, she worked as a graduate volunteer teacher in Nigeria (1965‒1967) and in 1969 received an MA in African Studies from the Centre of West African Studies, University of Birmingham, UK. In 1976, she returned to Nigeria and worked as a lecturer at the Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin, and researched the economic history of Ilorin. Studying under Professor J. D. Fage, she received her Ph.D. in History/African Studies in 1984 from the University of Birmingham. She left Kwara State College of Technology in 1985, and moved to America, where she became Coordinator of Intercultural Studies at Niagara University. She also worked in publishing, including as co-editor of the African Economic History journal. She authored the book Power Relations in Nigeria: Ilorin Slaves and Their Successors (1997), edited a new edition of Letters from Nigeria, 1899‒1900 of David Wynford Carnegie (1992), and has published numerous articles.

Administration

Author
Eden Orelove
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Ann O'Hear, 2016.
Processing Information
Titles and notes provided by Ann O'Hear.
Slides digitized in 2019.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection digitized and available online. Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Preferred Citation
Ann O'Hear Collection, EEPA 2016-004, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Related Materials
Additional archival and art collections by Ann O'Hear are held at the following locations:
Ann O'Hear Collection: Research on Master Weaver Yahaya Kalu Olabintan of Ilorin. A digital collection including an introduction, a research note with bibliographical references, images with captions, and an appendix, deposited in the National Museum of African Art Library, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
The Dr. Ann O'Hear Archive, The Hull History Centre. An annotated collection of articles, books, interviews, research notes, correspondence, archival materials, etc., on slavery and related subjects.
The Ann O'Hear Collection, Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter. A collection of lantana beads from Ilorin (Nigeria).
"Additions to the Lovejoy-Adesiyun Collection." A digital collection including interviews, a research note, images, etc., Harriet Tubman Resource Centre, Harriet Tubman Institute, York University, Toronto, Canada. See http://digital.tubmaninstitute.ca/collections/show/11.
The O'Hear Collection of West African textiles, presented to ULITA—An Archive of International Textiles (University of Leeds). Handwoven cloths, dyed cloths, mostly Nigerian, collected by Ann and Hugh O'Hear, 1960s-1980s.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Leatherwork Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pottery Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Weaving Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Blacksmithing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hides and skins Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Africa Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nigeria Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color slides Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Digital images Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Potters Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yoruba (African people) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
National Museum of African Art
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 708
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-4690
Fax Number: Fax: 202-357-4879
elisofonarchives@si.edu