This beautiful brass head represents an Oba, one
of the hereditary God-Kings of the ancient
Kingdom of Benin. The head represents a young
man wearing a ringed collar (which acts as the
base of the piece) and an ornate crown that
encircles his head. Strips of coral beads emanate
from the rim and hang down over his ears and
the nape of the neck to his shoulders. The apex
of the head is open, to admit an elephant’s tusk.
The face is fairly rounded, with full cheeks, a flat
brow and a wide, flat nose. The eyes are pointed
ovals with elevated rims that are extensively
cross-hatched, and the ears rendered as
geometric shell-like forms. The lips are sharp
and slightly parted. The forehead is decorated
with six pellets indicating his status and rank.
The profile is superb, with the proportions
perfectly observed, and his importance is further
underscored by the outstanding artistry of the
piece’s execution. This is heightened by an
excellent patina.
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.
Stylistically, the Benin heads follow certain
conventions through time, but there are
inconsistencies in all typologies. The current
piece is comparatively non-naturalistic and
probably dates to the later part of the 18th and
into the19th centuries. Taken as a whole, the
piece is remarkably effective, powerful and well-
rendered. In this sense it is a true Benin
masterwork in that it underscores that polity’s
importance to the development of African and
even world art traditions. This piece would take
pride of place in any serious collection of African
art
