Background panel "urua" of a chief's ancestor altar ·  Nigéria, Bénin · ID: 3032375

Description

heavy wood, greyish brown patina, carved with two stylized ram heads in flat relief, raised band ornaments with notches in the lower third, slightly dam., minor missing parts, cracks, traces of weathering;
panels like the present are extremely rare, they can be found only in shrines of high ranking “owo” and “Edo/Bini” (Benin Kingdom) chiefs.