Fragment of a pectoral ·  Nigeria, Benin - Edo · ID: 3037188

Description

bronze, part of a plaque with standing figure, wearing an elaborate decorated vestment with short skirt, headdress with ear flaps and broad chin strap, the right arm of the figure once standing to the right preserved, eyelets around the rim once holding bracelets with bells, old age patina, metal base;
presumably coming from a triade, which according to a strict hierarchical canon always shows an “Oba” and two dignitaries “enobore” who support him. Triads are considered the most important royal representations in the art of Benin. The assistance the king receives by the two “enobore”, is seen as the custom, to save the king from a fall which would bring about desaster for the kingdom. In another version the triad stands for the responsibility of the people, to assist the king in his heavy burden he has to take for the wellbeing of the kingdom.
A similar pectoral is pictured at Plankensteiner, 2007, p. 392.

Littérature comparée

Plankensteiner, Barbara (Hg.), Benin, Könige und Rituale, Wien 2007, p. 392 f.