Benin art is the art of royalty. The fabulous bronze objects which grace museums and private collections around the world were either created exclusively for the Oba (king), or made by his artists for other important people. Through the centuries the Oba accumulated vast wealth, and each successive king turned some of his riches into an art form that has few parallels. Highly specialized artists of bronze work were brought in to live in a certain district of the city forming a guild. Before 1897 bronze objects ordered by the king were kept in special rooms of the palace. Written accounts from awestruck European visitors describe the magnificence of Benin court ceremony, etiquette and art which left them dazzled.
There are some rare works of art that leave the impression that more than human hand was involved in its creation. This gorgeous bronze mask is not only technically remarkable, it radiates an energy that is very real and very human. Though the bronze heads placed on ancestor altars were not considered portraits but ritual items; this mask is like a beautiful painting of someone very important. He may be a high ranking member of the royal court or perhaps an Oba himself, seen in the full flower of youth - confident, proud and serene, his gaze fixed on the future with the self-assurance of kingly authority. He recalls the rare beauty of a culture that has vanished. Yet, through artistic brilliance and unimaginable wealth, a testimony of a golden age has been left behind for us to admire and be awestruck by like the privileged visitors of the past.