
| Institution field | Value |
|---|---|
accession object id | 2007.387 |
id object id | 192410 |
main_reference_number object id | 2007.387 |
title/0 designation | Altar Head for a Chief |
description description | <p>After death the obas (kings) of Benin are honored with altars that include stylized commemorative heads made of cast-copper alloy. This material has long been highly valued in Benin and until the early 20th century, it could only be used with permission of the oba. Important commoners have wood heads placed on their altars that are fashioned in a similar style to the royal commemorative heads. This wood head is embellished with decorative copper-alloy sheeting and would likely have been made for a high-ranking titleholder or chief loyal to the oba. There is a narrow cavity in the back designed to hold a wooden rod decorated with cowrie shells in imitation of the tall ivory tusks that rise from the commemorative heads of obas. The band of copper, pounded to appear as separate rows, likewise imitates the decorative bands encircling the oba commemorative heads, which reference the coral beads worn by actual obas as a symbol of divine leadership. The top of this head is crowned by a helmet patterned with alternating lines within a grid and a vertically projecting element on the left side. The figure’s face is relatively long and narrow, with full eyes and heavy lids, a wide nose and two parallel rows indicating a mouth.</p> |
thumbnail/alt_text description | A work made of wood and copper alloy. |
material_titles material | wood (plant material); copper alloy |
medium_display material | Wood and copper alloy |
dimensions dimensions | H. approx. 30.5 cm (12 in.) |
classification_title object type | ceremonial object |
classification_titles object type | ceremonial object; wood; copper alloy; arts of Africa; african art; altar; carving; sculpture; altar object; ritual objects |
term_titles object type | wood (plant material); ceremonial object; carving; ancestors; edo (african); copper alloy; wood; copper alloy; May 2020; arts of Africa; Arts of Africa; african art; people; altar; carving; metalworking; deceased; king; benin kingdom; sculpture; african Art; altar object; ritual objects; Coastal West Africa |
color/h colour | 315 |
color/l colour | 47 |
color/percentage colour | 5.639808020934967E-4 |
color/population colour | 6 |
color/s colour | 0 |
subject_titles iconography | ancestors; people; deceased; king |
date_display date made | 19th/early 20th century |
date_end date made | 1925 |
date_start date made | 1800 |
artist_title ethnic attribution producer | Edo |
artist_titles producer | Edo |
technique_titles production technique | carving; metalworking |
place_of_origin production place | Nigeria |
credit_line prior source | Gift of Balint B. Denes from the Alexandra Collection |
provenance_text provenance | Unknown owner, Nigeria; sold to Mr. Balint B. Denes, Evanston, Ill., and Oro Valley, Ariz., about 1965 [see correspondence in curatorial file]; given to the Art Institute, 2007. |
artist_display ethnic attribution | Edo, Court of Benin Nigeria Coastal West Africa |
department_title department and institution | Arts of Africa |
exhibition_history exhibition history | |
publication_history bibliography | |
collection_status legal status | Permanent Collection |
is_public_domain license | false |
alt_image_ids images | 79b26ddd-6e45-87b8-588c-9b4636ca92af; e7ffbba8-2303-75d9-b327-3b4de840bbc4; 10619699-b940-78cb-fa9e-67eb6fa645d4; f5c09457-5324-8d5d-3a7f-51f657250a53; 5364147d-7e07-0794-f21f-d86dc2dac815 |
image_id images | 814ddfec-d60f-5662-7151-7a155d4d893c |
api_link weblink | https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/192410 |
api_model weblink | artworks |
alt_classification_ids | TM-84; TM-11709; TM-14182; TM-13486; TM-12858; TM-440; TM-13; TM-12923; TM-12318 |
alt_material_ids | TM-2694 |
alt_style_ids | TM-14183; TM-12928; TM-13489; TM-13566 |
alt_subject_ids | TM-8810; TM-12922; TM-12921 |
alt_technique_ids | TM-4152 |
artist_id | 37838 |
artist_ids | 37838 |
category_ids | PC-1 |
category_titles | Arts of Africa |
classification_id | TM-319 |
classification_ids | TM-319; TM-84; TM-11709; TM-14182; TM-13486; TM-12858; TM-440; TM-13; TM-12923; TM-12318 |
date_qualifier_id | |
date_qualifier_title | |
department_id | PC-1 |
document_ids | |
fiscal_year | 2008 |
gallery_id | |
gallery_title | |
has_educational_resources | false |
has_multimedia_resources | false |
has_not_been_viewed_much | false |
internal_department_id | 43 |
is_boosted | false |
is_on_view | false |
is_zoomable | false |
last_updated | 2021-02-02T11:14:25-06:00 |
last_updated_source | 2020-09-12T16:09:58-05:00 |
latitude | |
latlon | |
longitude | |
material_id | TM-2431 |
material_ids | TM-2431; TM-2694 |
max_zoom_window_size | 843 |
pageviews | 1020 |
pageviews_recent | 20 |
publishing_verification_level | Web Cataloged |
sound_ids | |
style_id | TM-6251 |
style_ids | TM-6251; TM-14183; TM-12928; TM-13489; TM-13566 |
style_title | edo (african) |
style_titles | edo (african); Arts of Africa; benin kingdom; african Art; Coastal West Africa |
subject_id | TM-12147 |
subject_ids | TM-12147; TM-8810; TM-12922; TM-12921 |
technique_id | TM-3863 |
technique_ids | TM-3863; TM-4152 |
text_ids | |
thumbnail/height | 3187 |
thumbnail/width | 2129 |
timestamp | 2021-02-08T12:51:29-06:00 |
title/1/weight | 1020 |
Digital Benin collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards African and African diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Read more about the background of this statement here