A230

Standing Male Figure

A sculpture of a standing man. He wears a decorated skirt, helmet, and a cross around his neck. He holds part of a sword in his left hand; his right hand is clasped, but does not hold an object.

Copper alloy

Overall: 22 1/4 x 9 1/4 x 8 3/4 in. (56.5 x 23.5 x 22.2 cm)

Sculptures

Figurines

16th century

Benin City, Nigeria, Africa

Benin Kingdom, Edo

Gallery

This cast copper alloy figure dates to the 16th century. It was made by an artist working for the king (Oba) of Benin, an empire that flourished in present-day Nigeria from around 1400 until 1897, when it was sacked by British punitive forces. Works of cast copper alloy, like this example, documented life at court and glorified the power and wealth of the Oba. The figure may represent either a priest or messenger. The figure's skirt depicts stylized faces, which may represent the Portuguese voyagers who conducted extensive trade with Benin beginning in the 15th century. (Dr. Christa Clarke, March 2003)

Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Great French Paintings from The Barnes Foundation: Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Early Modern," January 29–April 9, 1995.

Clarke, Christa. African Art in the Barnes Foundation: The Triumph of L'Art nègre and the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2015, 178-179. Clarke, Christa. "Defining African Art." African Arts 36, no. 1 (2003): 49, fig. 16. Dolkart, Judith F., Martha Lucy, and Derek Gillman. The Barnes Foundation: Masterworks. New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2012: 348, 349. Plankensteiner, Barbara, ed. Benin Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Ghent: Snoeck Publishers, 2007: 28, 103, 105, 333-334. Wattenmaker, Richard J. and Anne Distel. Great French Paintings from The Barnes Foundation: Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Early Modern. New York: Alfred A. Knopf in association with Lincoln University Press, 1993, 23, fig. 9.

Unidentified artist

A230

Standing Male Figure

This solid bronze figure would have been placed alongside carved ivory tusks, commemorative bronze heads, bells, and other artworks on the memorial altar of a king of Benin, a once-vast empire in what is now Nigeria. The artist, a member of the royal brass-casting guild (Igun Eronmwon), developed a finely detailed wax model to form a mold for the casting process: the damask pattern on the skirt was etched into the model, while delicately rolled wax pieces or molten wax dropped from above formed the lace garment that ties behind the figure. Standing officials like this one are rare, and only eleven such sculptures are known in museum collections today. The identity of the official represented by this figure remains in dispute. The three lines of scarification on the figure's cheeks and his unique lace collar suggest that the official is foreign, even if his skirt is of the historical Benin fashion. The officials are likely men from a neighboring vassal state serving in the Benin court or sent there to serve as ambassadors. Kathryn Gunsch in Christa Clarke, African Art in the Barnes Foundation: The Triumph of L'Art nègre and the Harlem Renaissance (New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2015), 178.

This figure dates to the 16th century. It was made by an artist working for the king (Oba) of Benin, an empire that flourished in present-day Nigeria from around 1400 until 1897, when it was sacked by British forces. Works of cast copper alloy, like this example, documented life at court and glorified the power and wealth of the Oba. The figure may represent either a priest or messenger.

Copper alloy

Overall: 22 1/4 x 9 1/4 x 8 3/4 in. (56.5 x 23.5 x 22.2 cm)

16th century

Unidentified artist

Benin Kingdom, Edo

Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Great French Paintings from The Barnes Foundation: Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Early Modern," January 29–April 9, 1995.

Off View

Currently not on view

Clarke, Christa. African Art in the Barnes Foundation: The Triumph of L'Art nègre and the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2015, 178-179. Clarke, Christa. "Defining African Art." African Arts 36, no. 1 (2003): 49, fig. 16. Dolkart, Judith F., Martha Lucy, and Derek Gillman. The Barnes Foundation: Masterworks. New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2012: 348, 349. Plankensteiner, Barbara, ed. Benin Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Ghent: Snoeck Publishers, 2007: 28, 103, 105, 333-334. Wattenmaker, Richard J. and Anne Distel. Great French Paintings from The Barnes Foundation: Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Early Modern. New York: Alfred A. Knopf in association with Lincoln University Press, 1993, 23, fig. 9.

Public Domain