Sales offer !!! 30% off original listed price of £999.99!!! Now £699.99!!!
Item.
Outstanding, Bronze head of Oba of Benin. Old, rare example originating from the time of the recorded inception of the ancient Benin empire of Nigeria.
Old and truly special example. This Oba of Benin head is a rarer and iconically sought after example of one of the most popular category of Benin bronzes made. I.e portrait bust of the Oba or King of the Benin empire.
The Benin Bronzes are a group of more than a thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now the Midwest area of Nigeria.
Collectively, the Benin bronze objects form the best-known examples of Benin art and were created from the thirteenth century onwards by artists of the Edo people of Nigeria.
Origin.
Edo People of Nigeria.
Use.
The Oba or King is the traditional and Monarchical head of the Benin Kingdom from ancient time till today.
The title of "Oba" (King) of Benin is always bestowed on the first born son of a King when he ascends the throne to replace his father, the previous king, at the time of his death.
One of the first and most important duty of the new King is to venerate the previous king by commissioning the creations of a portrait a bronze head portrait of his father that would then be placed on an altar at the Royal palace.
The altar is an important site of palace ritual and the old King, through his bronze portrait, retains a tutelary and counselling function providing the current King with the wisdom and knowledge to retain the prosperity and greatness of the Benin Kingdom.
Description.
A fine example of an Oba of Benin bronze head tthat is the work of an accomplished Benin bronze caster. Highly stylized with swollen cheeks and enlarged eyes.
Excellent depiction of the Oba in his elaborate beaded headdress crown with beaded coral string veil attachment to the side and rear of the face of the Oba. Rhe Oba's crown features two wing-like side projections.
The royal regalia is completed with the beaded coral collar that covers the neck and chin.
The three raised marks above each eye, which are called ikharo, are believed to represent scarification marks used then.
This very rare example has a base flange extension with two small resting Leopards, two turtles and decorative motifs.
Genuine patination oxidized with age. I estimate this example to be decades old from provenance I have available about the item.
These Oba of Benin bronze head, in my opinion, are perhaps one of the most sought-after of the Benin bronzes ever made. They are collected passionately and iconically.
The head show excellent form, symmetry and balance throughout. A superb and superior example.
Some minor degradation and thinning of the bronze metal, throughout, as to be expected from this item which is significantly old.
Nonetheless the head is in excellent collector condition. A beautiful, considerable and significant tribal treasure offered with a start price that represents superb value for one of the most iconic work of primitive-tribal art from Africa.
Please note this is a tribal treasures obtained from it's original home of creation and use with genuine provenance and history.
.
As with all my bronze offerings, this is a personal field-collected find from Edo State of Nigeria which is the modern location of the Ancient Benin Empire that produced the many examples of beautiful Benin bronze collected worldwide today.
Newsletter on buying authentic Benin bronze.
If you want information on the unique perspective of Yemisi Gallery regarding the collection of authentic Benin bronze, kindly send us a request for it by contacting us.
Measurement.
44cm high x 22cm wide x 27cm deep.
Weight.
10 kg approx. Very heavy.
Why buy Benin bronze from Yemisi Gallery?
The ancient Benin Kingdom is famous for inspiring the production of the Benin Bronzes several centuries ago.
The Benin bronzes were produced exclusively for commemoratively exalting the Oba of Benin. They therefore adorned his palace and royal Courts.
In 1897, the Benin Kingdom fell under attack from a British Punitive expedition so-called because it was dispatched to punish the Oba of Benin after an earlier British expedition had been ambushed in Benin.
The punitive expedition precipitated the end of the Benin Kingdom eventually leading it to be absorbed into colonial Nigeria.
The Benin bronzes numbering hundreds , and other treasures from the palace and court of the Oba of Benin, were looted and taken outside Africa.
The Oba of Benin at the time, Ovonramwen, would be sent into exile where he would die in 1914.
His son, Eweka II, ascended the throne in 1914 the year of his father's death. At the time Eweka II ascended the throne, brass and bronze casting had already become an established tourist industry.
Oba Eweka II did a lot to revive the art of casting. He re-established the shrines of his father.
He reconvened a new guild of Benin bronze casters to make new ritualistic objects and reproduction of the Benin bronzes that had adorned the palaces of his ancestors.
In 1916, a shed was built near the palace for artists and members of the new Benin bronze casters guild to make and sell their works.
This was effectively a signal that anyone interested could purchase Bronze work produced post-punitive expedition of 1897.
At Yemisi Gallery we work exclusively with members of the Benin bronze casters guild, created by Oba Eweka II, and their offsprings they have passed on the casting skills to, for our legal purchase of authentic Benin bronze we are then able to offer to collectors worldwide at excellent prices for genuine Benin Bronzes created by artists possessing the finest Benin bronze casting skills till today.
Postage information.
Item will be delivered using a UPS tracked International service.
Please note we are an international seller who mainly obtain tribal artifacts directly in their area of creation and use as we rate authenticity above anything else per tribal art.
We sometime therefore send items, especially big items, directly from where they were field-collected as this saves duplication of cost and effort for us.
Please allow at least two weeks for delivery after payment is made. Thank yo