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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Game piece
Edo, Benin kingdom, Nigeria
16th–17th century
Medium/Technique
Copper alloy
Dimensions
Length x width: 6.4 x 2.5 cm (2 1/2 x 1 in.)
Credit Line
Robert Owen Lehman Collection
Accession NumberL-G 7.8.2012
CollectionsJewelry, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Pendants
This beautifully detailed figure fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. The figure is wearing a leopard-tooth necklace and a bell, two accessories frequently worn by Benin warriors in the 16th century. Because of the object's rounded base and the small feather-shaped loop on the back of the helmet, many think it may have been worn as a pendant. But scholar Kathy Curnow has identified this as a game piece in a pastime that reprises Oba Esigie's success against the Idah in 1517.
ProvenanceBy 1960, John Russell, London; July 11, 1972, Russell and others sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot 269, to James Kirkman for £ 2,000. 2012, promised gift of Robert Owen Lehman to the MFA.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Although the early provenance of this object is not recorded, it is likely that British forces looted it from the Royal Palace in Benin City in 1897. At that time troops occupied the city and seized approximately 4,000 works of art; these objects then made their way to European collectors, dealers, and museums. It is also possible that it left Benin City at a later date or by other means that have not been documented.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Although the early provenance of this object is not recorded, it is likely that British forces looted it from the Royal Palace in Benin City in 1897. At that time troops occupied the city and seized approximately 4,000 works of art; these objects then made their way to European collectors, dealers, and museums. It is also possible that it left Benin City at a later date or by other means that have not been documented.