This stunning, magnificently detailed three-tier, royal, wood Ayo game box, was executed by Olowe of Ise (1875-1937), the greatest Yoruba carver of the 20th Century, circa 1890. 
Born in Efon-Alaiye, he relocated to Ise Ekiti in his youth & worked under the patronage of the Oba Arinjale of Ise. His artistic reputation grew and received palace architectural sculpture commissions throughout Yorubaland over his a period of about 40 years as an active artist.
During his lifetime, his works were exhibited within and beyond Africa. A pair of doors he carved were exhibited in London in 1924. His works are preserved in several collections through out the world, like the Agere Ifa pictured below, dated around 1900.
