Lid of a box · Nigeria, Kingdom of Benin, Edo · ID: 3037878
Hans Himmelheber, Heidelberg, Germany (1934)
Boris Kegel-Konietzko, Hamburg, Germany
Ludwig Bretschneider, Munich, Germany
Description
ivory, of slender rectangular form with rounded corners, carved with two human figures, a snake and a leopard, collection number “Be5” at the back, min. dam., cracks through age (esp. at the back), small missing parts, base;
such objects were reserved for kings and high-ranking persons. They served for keeping kola nuts which were offered to visitors during ceremonies.
The leopard symbolizes the total harmony between two forces: menace and temperance, attributes an ideal leader (“oba”) should have. Like the “oba”, the leopard has the privilege of a leader, the “right to kill” so he stands above life.
Littérature comparée
Arts primitifs, Collection Vérité, Paris 2006, p. 182, ill. 174 Duchateau, Armand, Benin, München, New York 1995, p. 101, ill. 105 (similar motif)