Provenience undocumented (Benin area, Nigeria; D'arcy Galleries of New York, to May 16, 1959; Joseph Hirshhorn purchase May 16, 1959-May 17, 1966.) Vetted and dated to 1958 by William Fagg. Philip Dark also vetted the object, but was not sure it was from Benin. He ultimately agreed with Fagg's identification. Paula Girshick Ben-Amos, Keeper of African Art at U Penn Museum questioned whether object was from Benin and provided photos of Yoruba sculptures of chickens for comparison. Exhibited in Hirshhorn Museum (HMSG) "The Animals in Art" Nov 17, 1977 - Jan 15, 1978.
Description: cast brass stylized chicken is screwed to square wooden base. Has small head with open beak, round big body, & left leg has extension (for screwing to base). Round wings are spread out, triangular tail raised. Wings & underside of body covered with incised cross-hatching.
SI Archives acc. 86-136, box 1