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Mounted ruler (so-called Horseman)
Edo, Benin kingdom, Nigeria
16th century
Medium/Technique
Copper alloy
Dimensions
Length x width: 45.7 x 27.9 cm (18 x 11 in.)
Credit Line
Robert Owen Lehman Collection
Accession NumberL-G 7.12.2012
CollectionsAfrica and Oceania
ClassificationsSculpture
This sculpture depicts a finely dressed warrior headed into battle. The elaborate feathered crown has a small basketry projection in the center, a regional symbol of high rank. The elaborate ruff and tunic decorated with cowrie shells also signal that this is no ordinary warrior. Yet his right hand is armed with a spear, and his left hand clutches arrows. Although some scholars once identified this figure as a king of Benin, others convincingly argue that he is a foreigner. This figure is possibly the king of the Idah, a neighboring state that attacked Benin in the early 1500s. The figure would have been placed on a commemorative altar for a deceased king, likely alluding to Benin’s decisive victory in this critical battle.
Provenance16th century, commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon, or royal brasscasters guild, by the Oba of Benin; by descent to Oba Ovonramwen (Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, b. about 1857 - d. about 1914; r. 1888 - 1897), Royal Palace, Benin City; 1897, looted from the Royal Palace during the British military occupation of Benin by Dr. Felix Norman Roth (b. 1857 – d. 1921); 1897, given by Roth to his brother, Henry Ling Roth (b. 1855 – d. 1925), Halifax, England; May 11, 1898, sold by Henry Ling Roth for £ 20 to Lt.-General Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers (b. 1827 - d. 1900), Farnham, England; 1966, Pitt-Rivers Museum closed and collection passed by descent to Stella Howson-Clive (Pitt-Rivers), Dorset [see note]. By 2011, Robert Owen Lehman, Rochester, NY; 2012, promised gift of Robert Owen Lehman to the MFA.
NOTE:
Augustus Pitt-Rivers established a privately-owned museum in Dorset in 1880, where he housed acquisitions he made between 1880 and 1900. He kept several notebooks recording the collection, now held by Cambridge University. The collection passed by descent through Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers’s son, Alexander Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, to his grandson, Captain George Pitt-Rivers (1890-1966) and his common law wife, Stella Howson-Clive (Pitt-Rivers). The museum closed in 1966 and portions of the collection were sold.
NOTE:
Augustus Pitt-Rivers established a privately-owned museum in Dorset in 1880, where he housed acquisitions he made between 1880 and 1900. He kept several notebooks recording the collection, now held by Cambridge University. The collection passed by descent through Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers’s son, Alexander Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, to his grandson, Captain George Pitt-Rivers (1890-1966) and his common law wife, Stella Howson-Clive (Pitt-Rivers). The museum closed in 1966 and portions of the collection were sold.