This figure depicts one of the retinue of the Oba (king) of Benin sounding a side-blown horn. It is typical of those objects which might have been found on altars in the Benin royal court of the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century which were dedicated to the Oba's ancestors. The horn would have been made of ivory. Such horns were a prerogative of kingship and were used to annouce the Oba's presence at royal ceremonies. P. Girshick Ben-Amos, The Art of Benin (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
Exhibitions Loans and Displays - Current and Pastexhibition history Exhibited: 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa 1991 Feb-Apr, Norwich, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Man and Metal in Ancient Nigeria 1991-1992 Oct-Jan, Washington DC, National Gallery of Art, Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration 1993-1997, London, Museum of Mankind, Great Benin: a West African Kingdom 2000-2001 Dec-Feb, BM, Human Image 2003-2004 Oct-Jan, London, Hayward Gallery, Saved! 100 Years of the National Art Collections Fund 2005 Jul-Sep, Monaco, Grimaldi Forum, Arts of Africa: 7000 Years of African Art 2007-2008 Apr-Oct, Bristol, Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Slavery, Abolition and the Making of Modern Britain