Benin Style, Nigeria

Statue of a Court Official. The bronzes of Benin are the outcome of a long tradition The “Benin style” is a court art from the palace of the divine oba (king) The Benin oba employed a guild of artisans who all lived in the same district of the city. The oba possessed a monopoly of bronze   Bronze figures ordered by the king were kept in the palace. The empire flourished until 1897, when the palace was sacked by the English in reprisal for an ambush that had cost the British vice-consul his life. The majority of figures represented court officials, equestrian figures, queens, and roosters. Soon after this expedition a newly elected oba (king) did everything to breathe new life into the old arts and was, up to a point, successful. The present figure is an image of a court official.

Material: African bronze

Size: 13½”x4½”x3½”

Price: $ 290+$35 (S&H)                                                  [#N7B6B598]