Fragment of a pectoral ·  Nigeria, Benin - Edo · ID: 3037191

Description

bronze, part of a plaque with standing figure of a courtier, the arm of the figure once standing to the right partly preserved, metal base;
the attendants of the Oba wore costumes of plaited plant fibre and a headdress with the so-called “oro” projection. Such U-shaped pendants were once worn by the Oba and special dignitaries in groups of three around the waist. Although the weight of bronze triades does not seem to correspond with that kind of usage, in Benin kingdom attire and fittings seem to have been designed with the purpose to verify the physical and psychic toughness of the men wearing them.

The object Fragment of a pectoral with the object ID 3037191 was part of the auction 77th tribal art auction on June 28, 2014. The object with the lot number 261 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,500 with an asking price of EUR 2,000.

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