ARTISTRY, MURALS AND MOSAICS ARE CREATED FOR FUNCTIONAL AND AESTHETIC PURPOSES

In Yoruba artistry, murals and mosaics are created for functional and aesthetic purposes because according to a Yoruba proverb :

"Bi a se n kun ara ogiri, ni a n d"aso fun orisa" meaning ("as we paint the wall, so we clothe the deity").

Literarily, shrine paintings, carvings and ot traditional artistic works are meant to enrich the physical abode of the gods/deities, and affect the worshippers positively.

The works of Olowe of Ise is considered by many art historians and art collectors to be one of the most important artistic works in Yoruba history for the 20th century.

Olowe's innovative approach to carving the palace doors stands apart from Yoruba low relief work.

His work first became known in Europe when an elaborately carved and painted door and intel ensemble he had created for the palace of the Ogoga (king) of Ikere was displayed at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition in London.

They were considered by experts in the British Museum to be the finest piece of West African carving that has ever reached England, the door and its lintel were acquired for that museum's collection in exchange for a British made throne which typically is flat and even.