Kleiner Kopf eines Häuptlings. Benin wooden head of a chief, carved with the typ…

Description

Kleiner Kopf eines Häuptlings.

Benin wooden head of a chief, carved with the typical feather, completely covered with partly thick layer of sooty patina damages on bottom. Kingdom of Benin. VERKAUFT WIE BESEHEN, KEINE RÜCKGABE! / SOLD AS VIEWED, NO RETURN!

889

Kleiner Kopf eines Häuptlings.

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Estim. 2 000 - 2 500 EUR

Altar head of an Edo chieftain uhunmwun elao. Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria. H 41cm; carved from wood with the typical feather, the coral necklaces around the neck, a coral cap on the head, slightly drooping plaits on the sides and the square inlays of iron ikaro on the forehead (missing); matt shiny, black sacrificial patina. With C14 analysis by Dr. B. Kromer, University of Heidelberg, 2003! According to the latest research, the earliest heads from Benin date from around the beginning of the 16th century and were probably both trophy heads and sacred objects. It was customary to cut off the heads of defeated chiefs and present them to the Oba, who in turn commissioned the bronze casters to cast them in bronze. They were then placed on the ancestral altars. In addition, Benin sub-chiefs were allowed to have such heads made of wood, while heads made of terracotta were reserved for members of the bronze casters' guild, in order to emphasize the sacred and technical peculiarity of terracotta in their work. The head was subjected to an age analysis at the University of Heidelberg, according to which the tree that provided the wood for the sculpture grew after AD 1655, but certainly before AD 1950 (i.e. before the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests) (Dr. Kromer, Heidelberg). Illustrated in: K.-F. Schaedler, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture (2009) p. 95. Partially damaged by insect damage, otherwise intact. Provenance: Ex Coll. Mareidi and Gert Stoll, Munich, in Germany since the mid to late 1960s.

Estim. 7 200 - 9 000 EUR

Rare pair of ram's heads uhunmwun-elao (uhumwelao). Kingdom of Owo or Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria. H 35.5 and 37 cm. Like those of the Edo/Bini (Benin Kingdom), the altars of high-ranking Owo chiefs were decorated with heads, oliphants, carved tusks and other sacred objects. Similar to the bronze heads of the Benin kingdom, the wooden ram heads, the osamasinmi, were given libations when the first yams were harvested. They embody the idea of the ancestors as mediators for the transfer of the fertilizing life force from the gods, which finds a striking sculptural expression in the emphasis on the exponential curvature of the horns and the powerful thrust of the breastbone. Illustrated in: K.-F. Schaedler, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture (2009), p. 36. Minor abrasions, otherwise intact. Provenance: Ex collection Manfred Schäfer, Ulm.

Estim. 800 - 1 200 EUR

Ancient recade (MAKPO, FON former kingdom of Dahomey, Benin) Object embodying and representing royal power, here of King BEHANZIN (1845-1906) The wrought-iron head represents a viper's head on the front, and a shark's head on the back. The handle in patinated wood H. 50.5 cm

Estim. 50 - 80 EUR

Kingdom of Benin in NIGERIA OBA altar head. Bronze, lost wax casting 20th century. Height: 38 cm.

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