A Curated Collection of Fine African Metalwork Auction Ending 5/30

#19 – WALL PLAQUE FROM THE ROYAL PALACE. Edo people, Benin. The Edo Kingdom, which dates from the 13th century, was located in the eastern part of what is now Nigeria. The capital of Bendel State in Nigeria, Benin City, was once the capital of the Benin Kingdom. The head of the Kingdom, the Oba, was the leader of what grew to be a complex political and social organization administered by various palace, town and hereditary chiefs who served as government officials, military leaders, and spiritual attendants. Artists formed groups similar to the guilds of medieval Europe. Most noted were the artisans skilled in carving ivory and casting the large brass objects that filled the Royal Palace, especially the brass plaques that adorned its walls. Cast objects were created by the lost wax method in which wax was shaped over a clay form that was then enclosed in a clay mold. This complex object was then heated to allow the melted wax to be poured off and replaced with molten brass. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Benin in 1486. They were impressed with the complex social development of Benin and established a flourishing trade relationship with the Royal Court. Horses, a particularly important symbol of wealth and power in the Benin Court, were known to the Edo people from their conflicts with the cavalries of Islamic states to the north. Horses rarely survived long in the forested Benin Kingdom because they were very susceptible to trypanosomiasis (ngana) carried by tsetse flies. Only the Oba had the resources to keep a horse alive under very sheltered conditions, although the actual cause of ngana was not known. A picture published in 1668 by the Dutch historian Olfert Dapper, based on descriptions provided by Dutch explorers who visited Benin, depicts the Oba astride a horse with his retinue outside the Royal Palace. The objects on the tops of towers in the picture are 'birds of prophesy', not crosses. The Portuguese King sent a fully outfitted horse to the Oba via sailing ship around 1500. The earliest European documentation of wall plaques was in the 1600s when they were described as covering columns in the Royal Palace. The plaque in this lot shows the Oba holding the royal sword (Eben) seated on a horse and flanked by two senior royal attendants with shields. One attendant holds the horse's bridle and the other holds a spear. All figures wear traditional regalia, and the attendants wear pendants with the face of the Oba. Figures were typically depicted in a frontal orientation in Benin plaques. A SIMILAR PLAQUE SHOWING A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COURT (NOT SEATED ON A HORSE) IS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM (CATALOG # 1898.I-15.85) AND PUBLISHED IN NIGEL BARLEY'S BOOK 'FOREHEADS OF THE DEAD' 1988 FIG 14. On custom wall mount with electric spotlight. Lost wax cast brass. 16in x 20in.

WALL PLAQUE FROM THE ROYAL PALACE. Edo people, Benin. The Edo Kingdom, which dates from the 13th century, was located in the eastern part of what is now Nigeria. The capital of Bendel State in Nigeria, Benin City, was once the capital of the Benin Kingdom. The head of the Kingdom, the Oba, was the leader of what grew to be a complex political and social organization administered by various palace, town and hereditary chiefs who served as government officials, military leaders, and spiritual attendants. Artists formed groups similar to the guilds of medieval Europe. Most noted were the artisans skilled in carving ivory and casting the large brass objects that filled the Royal Palace, especially the brass plaques that adorned its walls. Cast objects were created by the lost wax method in which wax was shaped over a clay form that was then enclosed in a clay mold. This complex object was then heated to allow the melted wax to be poured off and replaced with molten brass. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Benin in 1486. They were impressed with the complex social development of Benin and established a flourishing trade relationship with the Royal Court. Horses, a particularly important symbol of wealth and power in the Benin Court, were known to the Edo people from their conflicts with the cavalries of Islamic states to the north. Horses rarely survived long in the forested Benin Kingdom because they were very susceptible to trypanosomiasis (ngana) carried by tsetse flies. Only the Oba had the resources to keep a horse alive under very sheltered conditions, although the actual cause of ngana was not known. A picture published in 1668 by the Dutch historian Olfert Dapper, based on descriptions provided by Dutch explorers who visited Benin, depicts the Oba astride a horse with his retinue outside the Royal Palace. The objects on the tops of towers in the picture are ?birds of prophesy?, not crosses. The Portuguese King sent a fully outfitted horse to the Oba via sailing ship around 1500. The earliest European documentation of wall plaques was in the 1600s when they were described as covering columns in the Royal Palace. The plaque in this lot shows the Oba holding the royal sword (Eben) seated on a horse and flanked by two senior royal attendants with shields. One attendant holds the horse?s bridle and the other holds a spear. All figures wear traditional regalia, and the attendants wear pendants with the face of the Oba. Figures were typically depicted in a frontal orientation in Benin plaques. A SIMILAR PLAQUE SHOWING A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COURT (NOT SEATED ON A HORSE) IS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM (CATALOG # 1898.I-15.85) AND PUBLISHED IN NIGEL BARLEY?S BOOK ?FOREHEADS OF THE DEAD? 1988 FIG 14. On custom wall mount with electric spotlight. Lost wax cast brass. 16in x 20in.

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