The early modern world
Benin court art
c. 1300–1897
Brass and ivory sculpture made by royal guilds to record the history and authority of the kings of Benin.
Overview
In the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now southern Nigeria, guilds of brass casters and ivory carvers worked for the king, the Oba. Using the lost-wax method, they cast commemorative heads for royal altars and hundreds of relief plaques that once covered the pillars of the palace.
The plaques show rulers, courtiers, warriors and Portuguese traders in precise detail, forming a visual record of court life in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Thousands of these works were taken by British forces in 1897 and dispersed to museums abroad. Their return is the subject of continuing negotiation, and some have been handed back to Nigeria.
What defines it
- Lost-wax casting in brass, often called bronze
- High-relief plaques with rank shown by size and position
- Carved ivory and coral regalia reserved for the Oba
Works to know
- Queen Mother Pendant Mask (Iyoba)
- Relief plaques from the royal palace
- Commemorative heads of Obas