Nigeria

Benin Royal Commemorative Plaque Cirça: 17th -16th century AD Materials: Copper alloy, bronze cast Dimensions: 46 x 37 x 2 ½ cm Origin: Benin Civilization; Yoruba people; from the region of Edo, state, Nigeria, West Africa. Historical Reference: Most of these type of Benin, bronze cast plaques were commissioned by the Oba himself to commemorate historical events. The plaque was considered somewhat like a photograph for the period which would mark a special event or festival in the history of the Oba’s regime. Most Benin art forms feature or depict kings or secondary court officials, chiefs, warriors, or musicians. The tradition of casting commemorative heads and plaques dates back to and was founded by a Yoruba prince originally from the region of Ife. The theme of the plaque was considered important enough to display the plaque in the Oba’s Royal Palace or court. Thus, these themes were obviously important enough to repeat them in the manufacturing of many other plaques during and after the lifetime of the Oba and his empire. The lost-wax casting process is a technique used by Benin sculptors to form the shape of the effigy head in a heat-resistant clay-core. This core is then covered with a layer of wax, in which the sculptor models, carves, and incises an image. Secondly, a thin layer of finely ground liquid clay is painted over the wax model then covered with increasingly thicker layers of clay. When the clay is completely dry, the assembly is heated to melt out the wax leaving an empty image or mold of the sculpted image of the head; for the hot molten metal to be filled in where the wax was, and hot metal is poured into the mold. The sculptor must turn the complete assembly upside down to pour the hot molten metal, which is generally a mixture of copper alloys or brass. When the molten metal has cooled, the outer clay casing and inner clay core are broken to remove the casted sculpture or plaque. Description: The central main figure depicts an Oba, king or noble, dignitary personage, due to his regalia, with a military pot style helmet, coral neck choker, badge of rank, and coral scarf across the shoulder. The central figure is holding a wooden box type casket in the form of an ox’ head (see In the Publication Antique Works of Art from Benin; by Augustus Pitt-Rivers, with the introduction of Bernard Fagg, curator, for the Pitt-Rivers, Museum, University of Oxford. (See the illustration on Plate XLIV plaque number #336 on page 88 there is an ox head box casket). The central figure is accompanied by two attendant figures and four smaller attendant characters. The two principles on the outer right and left sides of the central figure appear to be servants or slaves, one holding a bottle and the other holding a libation receptacle plate. Both are depicted wearing brass bracelets around their necks, with hair styles or coiffures in conventional bands of ridges. The two top attendant figures depict one playing a flute and the other holding a sword and the two lower attendant figures depict one holding a drum and the other blowing an ivory tusk trumpet. Provenance: This artifact is an extremely rare and important archeological find from the Benin civilization. Ex- collection of the British trader and empire builder Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (1846-1925) created the Royal Niger Company, which secured British claims to the lower Niger and Northern Nigeria. The époque of the Benin civilization is presumed to be from the classic period to between the 17th–16th centuries. The results of thermoluminescence testing (report number 14R030519) conducted by the Kotalla Laboratory research facilities in Germany reports that sampling taken from the core of the cast and on the inside of the nose and eyes shows that this artifact was last fired into its present construction approximately 400-500 years ago, with an actual date reported as 1531 AD, which is consistent with the suggested period of the Benin civilization. Historical Provenance of Acquisition for the two bronzes We have obtained from Ooni or Chief Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi of Ifè a certified letter stating the historical provenance of the two artifacts. This documented certified and stamped letter gives the complete ownership history from the time it was first offered by Ooni Adelekan Olubuse I to the Oba Osanobua Ovonramwen, of Benin, in 1890. This was prior to the occurrence, to the British punitive expedition that entered Benin, city on the 18th of January 1897. This was prior to the exile or deportation of to the Oba Osanobua Ovonramwen, imposed by the British. It was during the reign of the grandson of Oba Osanobua Ovonramwen, Oba Osanobua Akenzua II in 1921 that the Benin Commemorative Bronze Plaque and the Ifè Commemorative Bronze Head of a Dignitary; was offered to Dr. George Goldie, for services rendered loyally to the Benin, population. It was on the death of Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie, 1925 that the two bronzes one Benin Royal Commemorative Plaque and one Ifè Commemorative head of a Dignitary were sold to Mr. Alaji Inoua, an expert in Benin and Ifè artifacts, and in 1990 Prince Mamouda Mfondouop, purchased the two artifacts, which was later acquired by Maxwell Price.