Benin Bronze Cock, 17th Century CE - 19th Century CE
Bronze
15
DK.130 (LSO)
This striking and powerfully-modelled bronze cockerel was originally placed upon the commemorative altar of a deceased queen mother (Iyoba) in one of the royal courts of Benin, Nigeria. The kingdom...
This striking and powerfully-modelled bronze cockerel was originally placed upon the commemorative altar of a deceased queen mother (Iyoba) in one of the royal courts of Benin, Nigeria. The kingdom of Benin can justifiably lay claim to having produced the finest artists and craftsmen in the history of the African continent. Yet this heritage was scarcely recognised until the British punitive expedition of 1897, which destroyed and looted the ancient city compounds and in so doing brought the achievements of Benin to the world’s attention (Bacquart 1998).
The foundation of the Benin peoples was contemporary with the European late mediaeval period, when the kingdom of Benin was founded by a descendent of an Ife king in c.1180 AD. In the 15th and 16th centuries AD the power of the empire stretched across most of West Africa, and those areas not under their control were indirectly influenced by the effect of their trade networks and material culture styles. 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. The power of this empire was unequalled in its time, and the full extent of the rulers’ wealth only became apparent in the aftermath of its destruction.
Benin art is primarily based around a court context, and was designed to venerate the achievements and/or memory of the Obas, the divine rulers of the Benin polities. The artists and craftsmen were typically attached to a specific court, and charged with manufacture of objects solely for their ruler. Their work in bronze and copper, ironworking and sculpting in a range of materials that particularly included ivory was extremely refined and effective; indeed, smelting, forging and cire perdue (lost wax) metalworking methods exceeded any seen in Europe until the 19th century. The context of the pieces varied. Brass plaques depicting Obas and their courtly lives were attached to the walls and posts of compound buildings, while smaller pieces were worn – such as hip-masks – or kept as personal talismans. However, the majority of Benin masterworks were incorporated into the commemorative altars that were constructed under the order of new Obas in memory of their deceased fathers. They were low platforms of mud, decorated with various artefacts alluding to the Oba’s achievements in life. Their features were typically recorded on one or several bronze/brass heads, which were used as supports for holding elephant tusks in a crescent across the top of the altar. Further decorations included spears, statues, cast brass pieces 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”).
Particularly important – and perhaps domineering – queen mothers (Iyobas) were also sometimes commemorated in this way, following an edict laid down by Oba Esigie in the early 16th century (Phillips 1999: 397). The iconography and nature of the items placed upon Iyoba’s altars differs somewhat from that of their sons; brass heads representing Iyobas can always be differentiated on the basis of their tall hairstyles. Perhaps the best-known Iyoba-specific artefact is the cockerel, or Eson. The seemingly overtly male symbolism of the cockerel is misleading; the word “Eson” is an abbreviation of the praise name “Eson, Ogoro Madagba” – “the cock that crows at the head of the harem” – which was an honorific title for the Oba’s first wife and thus the mother of the future king. Her tasks included organisation and control of the harem, the training of junior wives in court etiquette, and various other administrative and political duties that give her what is probably the highest rank in Benin society – equivalent to that of a senior town chief.
The design of this majestic bird is less expressionistic and more based upon anatomical observation than other examples of the genre. It is leaner, more streamlined and more alert in expression than is usual. Rather than lobate feather forms, the feathers are naturalistic, small and overlapping on the legs and body, long and elegant on the wings, swirled and defensive on the ruff. The feathery effects are gained through manipulation of a standardised herringbone motif. The pose is active and dynamic, contrasting with the staid poses of other models from the 18th century. The pose, with the nape of the neck slightly hunched, is that of a fighting cockerel; cockfighting as entertainment is still practiced in Africa and indeed Europe, although the lack of prominent mid-calf spurs – which are often exaggerated using metal blades – is puzzling. The clipped wings are folded back against the body with a sinuous curve, matched by the long feathers that arc out over the shorter, straight-ended feathers of the tail. The head is slim, with a curved beak, a five-lobed comb and a prominent wattle beneath the chin. The eye is picked out in a simple circle-and-dot motif. The fact that the face is bare of relief design is not to accentuate the features (although it also has that effect); rather, it designates that the face was plucked bare of feathers for the purpose of fighting, as the texture of the metal matched that of the lower legs, which are also bare of design. The base is decorated with continuous double-strand knotwork designs around the sides.
Oba Esigie’s edict concerning honouring of Iyobas seems to have predated the origin of the rooster by at least 100 years: the earliest known example has been radiometrically dated to 1642. However, there is little dating information for the remaining roosters, which currently number around two dozen examples, and thus stylistic characteristics are of questionable value in ascertaining chronological position. Current academic thought places the known specimens in the early-mid 18th through to the 19th centuries, but this is done primarily on the basis of decorative element matching from known-age pieces as well as patina, use-wear and metal composition. For example, high zinc content is typically a 19th century characteristic, as is the use of iron core pins. The metals for this piece have not yet been tested; a preliminary study of the style of the piece has led to contradictory results. The angular poise of the bird seems to suggest a later (19th century) date, while the mode of decoration suggests a rather earlier date (17th to 18th century). We therefore tentatively assign this piece to the late 18th century, with the proviso that this is subject to review and stylistic re-analysis (see Ezra 1992 for a discussion of the issues involved in dating rooster figures).
This piece pleases at many levels, from the naturalistic to the aesthetic, the historical to the social. In all senses, however, it is a powerful and well-executed piece of African art with a royal pedigree which dwarfs that of many western nations. This is an outstanding masterpiece and the highlight of any serious collection of the genre.
Ezra, K. 1992. Royal Art of Benin: the Perls Collection. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, US.
Bacquart, J. 1998. The Tribal Arts of Africa. Thames and Hudson, UK.
Phillips, T. (ed). 1999. Africa: The Art of a Continent. Prestel.
The foundation of the Benin peoples was contemporary with the European late mediaeval period, when the kingdom of Benin was founded by a descendent of an Ife king in c.1180 AD. In the 15th and 16th centuries AD the power of the empire stretched across most of West Africa, and those areas not under their control were indirectly influenced by the effect of their trade networks and material culture styles. 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. The power of this empire was unequalled in its time, and the full extent of the rulers’ wealth only became apparent in the aftermath of its destruction.
Benin art is primarily based around a court context, and was designed to venerate the achievements and/or memory of the Obas, the divine rulers of the Benin polities. The artists and craftsmen were typically attached to a specific court, and charged with manufacture of objects solely for their ruler. Their work in bronze and copper, ironworking and sculpting in a range of materials that particularly included ivory was extremely refined and effective; indeed, smelting, forging and cire perdue (lost wax) metalworking methods exceeded any seen in Europe until the 19th century. The context of the pieces varied. Brass plaques depicting Obas and their courtly lives were attached to the walls and posts of compound buildings, while smaller pieces were worn – such as hip-masks – or kept as personal talismans. However, the majority of Benin masterworks were incorporated into the commemorative altars that were constructed under the order of new Obas in memory of their deceased fathers. They were low platforms of mud, decorated with various artefacts alluding to the Oba’s achievements in life. Their features were typically recorded on one or several bronze/brass heads, which were used as supports for holding elephant tusks in a crescent across the top of the altar. Further decorations included spears, statues, cast brass pieces 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”).
Particularly important – and perhaps domineering – queen mothers (Iyobas) were also sometimes commemorated in this way, following an edict laid down by Oba Esigie in the early 16th century (Phillips 1999: 397). The iconography and nature of the items placed upon Iyoba’s altars differs somewhat from that of their sons; brass heads representing Iyobas can always be differentiated on the basis of their tall hairstyles. Perhaps the best-known Iyoba-specific artefact is the cockerel, or Eson. The seemingly overtly male symbolism of the cockerel is misleading; the word “Eson” is an abbreviation of the praise name “Eson, Ogoro Madagba” – “the cock that crows at the head of the harem” – which was an honorific title for the Oba’s first wife and thus the mother of the future king. Her tasks included organisation and control of the harem, the training of junior wives in court etiquette, and various other administrative and political duties that give her what is probably the highest rank in Benin society – equivalent to that of a senior town chief.
The design of this majestic bird is less expressionistic and more based upon anatomical observation than other examples of the genre. It is leaner, more streamlined and more alert in expression than is usual. Rather than lobate feather forms, the feathers are naturalistic, small and overlapping on the legs and body, long and elegant on the wings, swirled and defensive on the ruff. The feathery effects are gained through manipulation of a standardised herringbone motif. The pose is active and dynamic, contrasting with the staid poses of other models from the 18th century. The pose, with the nape of the neck slightly hunched, is that of a fighting cockerel; cockfighting as entertainment is still practiced in Africa and indeed Europe, although the lack of prominent mid-calf spurs – which are often exaggerated using metal blades – is puzzling. The clipped wings are folded back against the body with a sinuous curve, matched by the long feathers that arc out over the shorter, straight-ended feathers of the tail. The head is slim, with a curved beak, a five-lobed comb and a prominent wattle beneath the chin. The eye is picked out in a simple circle-and-dot motif. The fact that the face is bare of relief design is not to accentuate the features (although it also has that effect); rather, it designates that the face was plucked bare of feathers for the purpose of fighting, as the texture of the metal matched that of the lower legs, which are also bare of design. The base is decorated with continuous double-strand knotwork designs around the sides.
Oba Esigie’s edict concerning honouring of Iyobas seems to have predated the origin of the rooster by at least 100 years: the earliest known example has been radiometrically dated to 1642. However, there is little dating information for the remaining roosters, which currently number around two dozen examples, and thus stylistic characteristics are of questionable value in ascertaining chronological position. Current academic thought places the known specimens in the early-mid 18th through to the 19th centuries, but this is done primarily on the basis of decorative element matching from known-age pieces as well as patina, use-wear and metal composition. For example, high zinc content is typically a 19th century characteristic, as is the use of iron core pins. The metals for this piece have not yet been tested; a preliminary study of the style of the piece has led to contradictory results. The angular poise of the bird seems to suggest a later (19th century) date, while the mode of decoration suggests a rather earlier date (17th to 18th century). We therefore tentatively assign this piece to the late 18th century, with the proviso that this is subject to review and stylistic re-analysis (see Ezra 1992 for a discussion of the issues involved in dating rooster figures).
This piece pleases at many levels, from the naturalistic to the aesthetic, the historical to the social. In all senses, however, it is a powerful and well-executed piece of African art with a royal pedigree which dwarfs that of many western nations. This is an outstanding masterpiece and the highlight of any serious collection of the genre.
Ezra, K. 1992. Royal Art of Benin: the Perls Collection. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, US.
Bacquart, J. 1998. The Tribal Arts of Africa. Thames and Hudson, UK.
Phillips, T. (ed). 1999. Africa: The Art of a Continent. Prestel.