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