Kola nut container "orievbee-enya" · Nigeria, Edo, Benin · ID: 3053571
Parke-Bernet Galleries Inc., New York, USA, 22 April 1967, lot 72
Sotheby’s, London, United Kingdom, 8 July 1974, lot 93
Merton D. Simpson, New York, USA (1974)
Walter Bareiss, Greenwich, USA & Salach, Germany
Arno Henseler, Munich, Germany
Description
wood, copper-alloy sheet, Leff coll. no. “926.”
Resting on a base, the casket is designed in the form of a horned animal’s head and was probably used for presenting gifts, particularly kola nuts, to the Oba, the king of Benin. The joint between the lid and the lower section runs from the muzzle to the back of the head. Two human arms project from the forehead, their hands grasping the horns. The carved wooden core is entirely covered with brass sheet.
According to Christopher D. Roy, the brass covering indicates that the casket originated from the Oba’s treasury. It may have been removed from Benin City in 1897 during the British looting and destruction of the royal palace.
A similar piece is illustrated in Pitt-Rivers: a relief panel on which a servant stands beside the Oba, holding an “orievbee-enya” in his hands.
Comparing literature
Forman, W. & B. & Philip Dark, Die Kunst von Benin, Prag 1960, pl. 13; Pitt-Rivers, Augustus, Antique works of art from Benin, New York 1973, pl. 4/18.
Publications
Roy, Christopher D., Kilengi, Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss, München 1997, p. 198; Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, Munich 2009, p. 486
AHDRC: 0089432
Exhibition
Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Exotic Art from Ancient and Primitive Civilizations, Collection of Jay C.Leff, Carnegie Institute, 15 October 1959 - 3 January 1960; "Kilengi. African Art from the Bareiss Family Collection", 1997-2000: Hannover, Germany, Kestner Gesellschaft, 30 August 1997 - 19 October 1997; Vienna, Austria, MAK - Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst, 12 November 1997 - 18 January 1998; Munich, Germany, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, 8 April 1998 - 5 July 1998; Iowa City, USA, The University of Iowa Museum of Art, 27 March 1999 - 23 May 1999; Purchase, NY, USA, Neuberger Museum of Art, State University of New York, 26 September 1999 - 10 January 2000