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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.
Portuguese soldier
Edo, Benin kingdom, Nigeria
16th century
Medium/Technique
Copper alloy, iron
Dimensions
Height x width: 16 x 9 in. (40.6 x 22.9 cm)
Credit Line
Robert Owen Lehman Collection
Accession NumberL-G 7.36.2012
CollectionsAfrica and Oceania
ClassificationsSculpture
This altar figure wears an engraved helmet donned by Portuguese soldiers in the fifteenth century, as well as a leather tunic intended to protect the torso from arrows. His features, including the long nose with a prominent central ridge, are markedly different from those of Benin courtiers; the artist makes it clear that this man is a foreigner. He carries a short sword or long dagger at his waist and is curiously barefoot. With arms raised and knees bent, this soldier stands ready to fire his rifle. The artist carefully delineates the different patterns of the figure’s clothes and the exacting details of his weaponry, and sensitively models his body and stance. The soldier’s weapon is a matchlock gun, newly invented in the 1440s and used into the sixteenth century.
Portuguese traders arrived in Benin in 1485 searching for pepper in order to undercut the prices of Middle Eastern spice merchants. The great quantities of pepper growing on the riverbanks in Benin sparked a regular trading relationship, with Portugal providing luxury textiles and copper in exchange for Benin pepper, ivory, and, tragically, enslaved persons. Trade continued until the early sixteenth century, when pepper was more freely available in Europe and profits no longer justified the long and dangerous voyage to Benin. Portuguese accounts mention that Portuguese mercenaries fought alongside the king of Benin’s armies in 1517 to repel an attack by the Idah, a kingdom on Benin’s northeast border. It is possible that this sculpture refers to the 1517 battle, a decisive moment in the fortunes of the kingdom and its leaders.
This sculpture would have been surrounded by other figures in bronze, as well as large bronze heads supporting ivory tusks, as part of a royal memorial altarpiece. The square support, now broken, has a flat base designed to rest on an altar’s smooth, polished clay surface. In its original content, this warrior was just one small piece of a great assemblage placed in the shadow of the roof ringing a courtyard in the palace.
Portuguese traders arrived in Benin in 1485 searching for pepper in order to undercut the prices of Middle Eastern spice merchants. The great quantities of pepper growing on the riverbanks in Benin sparked a regular trading relationship, with Portugal providing luxury textiles and copper in exchange for Benin pepper, ivory, and, tragically, enslaved persons. Trade continued until the early sixteenth century, when pepper was more freely available in Europe and profits no longer justified the long and dangerous voyage to Benin. Portuguese accounts mention that Portuguese mercenaries fought alongside the king of Benin’s armies in 1517 to repel an attack by the Idah, a kingdom on Benin’s northeast border. It is possible that this sculpture refers to the 1517 battle, a decisive moment in the fortunes of the kingdom and its leaders.
This sculpture would have been surrounded by other figures in bronze, as well as large bronze heads supporting ivory tusks, as part of a royal memorial altarpiece. The square support, now broken, has a flat base designed to rest on an altar’s smooth, polished clay surface. In its original content, this warrior was just one small piece of a great assemblage placed in the shadow of the roof ringing a courtyard in the palace.
ProvenanceBy 1960, Julius Carlebach (b. 1909 – d. 1964), New York. By 2011, Robert Owen Lehman, Rochester, NY; 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.