This imposing brass sculpture of a standing male
was made by a master metalworker of the
ancient kingdom of Benin. It represents an Oba –
one of the polity’s hereditary God-Kings –
wearing ceremonial robes down to the mid-shin,
and bearing a large knife in his right hand which
acted both as a weapon and also as a staff of
authority. The left hand is resting on the
abdomen. The detailing is exquisite. The
costume is decorated with diamond-shaped
lozenges that are overlain with a series of
necklaces and other diadems. The collar is high,
encircling the Oba’s rounded chin. The face is
traditionally austere, with almond-shaped eyes,
a large, long nose and compressed, full lips. The
head is surmounted with an ornate crown,
comprising a low-rise headpiece and three
vertical eminences and a central ornate spike.
The rendering is intriguing, being very
naturalistic in some respects (notably the head)
and schematic in the rendering of the limbs and
proportions. This would tend to suggest that the
face was the most important aspect of the piece;
early studies recognised the fact that Benin
people were able to recognise Obas in sculptures
and wall plaques, although non-Nigerian people
were unable to differentiate them.
In the eyes of the Benin populace, the Obas were
divine beings, and these heads were created after
their demise in order to be displayed on altars
dedicated to their memory. Until the late 19th
century, the Benin centres were a ruling power in
Nigeria, dominating trade routes and amassing
enormous wealth as the military and economic
leaders of their ancient empire. This changed
with the appearance of British imperial forces,
which coveted the wealth of the royal palaces
and found a series of excuses to mount a
punitive expedition against the Oba’s forces in
1897. It was only at this point, the moment of its
destruction, that the true achievements of the
Benin polities became apparent to western
scholars.
Benin royal palaces comprised a sprawling series
of compounds containing accommodation,
workshops and public buildings. As it grew, the
buildings pertaining to previous Obas were either
partially refurbished or left in favour of newer
constructions; this led to a long history of royal
rule written in sculptural works that rank among
the finest that African cultures have ever
produced; until European advances in the 19th
century, they were the finest bronzes that had
ever been made. Brass or bronze Oba heads
were used to honour the memory of a deceased
king. Typically, the son of the dead king – the
new Oba – would pay tribute to his father by
erecting an altar in his memory. These altars, low
platforms of mud that were arrayed around the
perimeter of the royal courtyards, were
decorated with various artefacts alluding to the
Oba’s achievements in life. These heads were
typically arranged in pairs, each supporting an
elephant’s tusk that was inserted through the
hole in the top of the head. Further decorations
included spears, statues, cast brass altars
depicting the Oba and his followers, brass bells
to awaken the spirits, rattle-staffs (ukhurhe) and
magical objects that included Neolithic celts
(known as “thunder stones”). The new king would
pay homage to his father in this way,
guaranteeing the succession and demonstrating
the continuity of divine kingship.
The current piece probably dates to the later part
of the 18th and into the 19th centuries. Taken as
a whole, the piece is remarkably effective,
powerful and well-rendered, and would take
pride of place in any serious collection of African
art
