Benin Bronze Plaque, 16th Century CE - 18th Century CE
bronze
9.5 x 18.5
DB.014 (LSO)
This striking zoomorphic plaque depicts a crocodile, one of a number of highly significant animals for the Bini – or members of the Benin Empire. The kingdom of Benin can...
This striking zoomorphic plaque depicts a crocodile, one of a number of highly significant animals for the Bini – or members of the Benin Empire. 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. Many works 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”).
However, it is perhaps for the famous brass plaques that Benin artistic heritage is best known. These plaques, which measured about a foot square, depicted Obas and their courtiers, engaged upon achievements both real and ritual. In them it is possible to read the history of the Benin peoples, from the earliest kings to the arrival of the Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, to lion/leopard hunts, war scenes, and depictions of ceremonies befitting what was essentially a living god. These are essentially portraits of court life depicting everyone from the Oba and his family through to regal attendants, musicians, soldiers, noblemen and priests. These were originally nailed to the walls and pillars of the royal palaces and compounds, and are perhaps our greatest source of information concerning ancient Benin ways of life.
The piece is comparatively elongated, decorated with low-relief floral designs and foliate scrollwork. Along the centre of the long axis is an expressionistically-rendered representation of a crocodile. The animal is somewhat rotund, with high-relief spikes protruding from the body in longitudinal stripes from the shoulders to the tip of the tail. The body is further decorated with low-relief indented lines that divide the body into a gridwork pattern. The limbs are comparatively slim, with five very finely-rendered digits on each foot (crocodiles should have four digits on the rear feet). The head is broad and spatulate, divided in two by a central ridge that runs from the nuchal crest to the tip of the snout. The top of the head is decorated with a light herringbone design. The eyes are very large and semicircular, and the right one appears to have retained some of its iron inlay. The piece would have been suspended by the four circular nail-holes, one at each corner.
This is a highly unusual piece as it has no anthropomorphic elements. Almost all the animals in Benin (and Yoruba) art have specific significance in terms of character; thus the humans depicted with them could be identified with those characters, or might wish to possess them. Thus, an Oba would be identified with the kingly leopard, while he might show beneficence and largesse by holding up two mudfish (a major dietary component, as well as embodying other characteristics such as serenity). This is essentially the origin of heraldry. The crocodile is a highly ambiguous animal, for it has been identified within the bestiaries of almost every tribe where it is known. It is invariably a powerful beast, associated with fortune telling (Kuba), creation myths (Senufo) or metamorphosis (Dogon). In Yoruba culture it adopts various personae according to context. There are two main variants: the first is dubbed eghughu, and are comparatively docile, harmless creatures that are akin to mudfish in iconographic significance (Ezra 1992: 99). The other, sharp-nosed form is agbaka, the “policeman of the waters”, who does the bidding of Olokun – himself a water god – and punishes the errant by overturning their canoes. The Oba (who was also believed to be divine) became identified with Olokun; over time the crocodile thus became associated with kingship. The Oba is often shown holding a crocodile by the tail in each hand; this has been interpreted as his association with Olokun, and also with Ogiwu, god of thunder (Werness 2003: 119). A crocodile in isolation is unusual; the potency of the symbol may be in some way linked to the validation of reign, for display in a prominent place that reminded onlookers of their monarch’s right to rule over them.
This is a truly spectacular piece of Benin art, and the deserved star of any serious collection.
Further Reading:
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.
Werness, H. 2003. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in Art. Continuum Press, London.
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. Many works 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”).
However, it is perhaps for the famous brass plaques that Benin artistic heritage is best known. These plaques, which measured about a foot square, depicted Obas and their courtiers, engaged upon achievements both real and ritual. In them it is possible to read the history of the Benin peoples, from the earliest kings to the arrival of the Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, to lion/leopard hunts, war scenes, and depictions of ceremonies befitting what was essentially a living god. These are essentially portraits of court life depicting everyone from the Oba and his family through to regal attendants, musicians, soldiers, noblemen and priests. These were originally nailed to the walls and pillars of the royal palaces and compounds, and are perhaps our greatest source of information concerning ancient Benin ways of life.
The piece is comparatively elongated, decorated with low-relief floral designs and foliate scrollwork. Along the centre of the long axis is an expressionistically-rendered representation of a crocodile. The animal is somewhat rotund, with high-relief spikes protruding from the body in longitudinal stripes from the shoulders to the tip of the tail. The body is further decorated with low-relief indented lines that divide the body into a gridwork pattern. The limbs are comparatively slim, with five very finely-rendered digits on each foot (crocodiles should have four digits on the rear feet). The head is broad and spatulate, divided in two by a central ridge that runs from the nuchal crest to the tip of the snout. The top of the head is decorated with a light herringbone design. The eyes are very large and semicircular, and the right one appears to have retained some of its iron inlay. The piece would have been suspended by the four circular nail-holes, one at each corner.
This is a highly unusual piece as it has no anthropomorphic elements. Almost all the animals in Benin (and Yoruba) art have specific significance in terms of character; thus the humans depicted with them could be identified with those characters, or might wish to possess them. Thus, an Oba would be identified with the kingly leopard, while he might show beneficence and largesse by holding up two mudfish (a major dietary component, as well as embodying other characteristics such as serenity). This is essentially the origin of heraldry. The crocodile is a highly ambiguous animal, for it has been identified within the bestiaries of almost every tribe where it is known. It is invariably a powerful beast, associated with fortune telling (Kuba), creation myths (Senufo) or metamorphosis (Dogon). In Yoruba culture it adopts various personae according to context. There are two main variants: the first is dubbed eghughu, and are comparatively docile, harmless creatures that are akin to mudfish in iconographic significance (Ezra 1992: 99). The other, sharp-nosed form is agbaka, the “policeman of the waters”, who does the bidding of Olokun – himself a water god – and punishes the errant by overturning their canoes. The Oba (who was also believed to be divine) became identified with Olokun; over time the crocodile thus became associated with kingship. The Oba is often shown holding a crocodile by the tail in each hand; this has been interpreted as his association with Olokun, and also with Ogiwu, god of thunder (Werness 2003: 119). A crocodile in isolation is unusual; the potency of the symbol may be in some way linked to the validation of reign, for display in a prominent place that reminded onlookers of their monarch’s right to rule over them.
This is a truly spectacular piece of Benin art, and the deserved star of any serious collection.
Further Reading:
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.
Werness, H. 2003. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in Art. Continuum Press, London.