AKK 0610-1

Benin Court Official Edo Pendant, Nigeria

Copper alloy

H: 15 cm (5,9”), W: 6 cm (2,4”)

This pendant or ornament were worn by Benin court officials, who have worn a variety of brass ornaments as part of their elaborate regalia for ceremonial occasions. The ornament portrays a person as a royal Edo man. Similar items of regalia are worn by Benin court officials today.

Possibly this pendant derived from the Punitive Expedition of 1897 that led to the loss of contextual information about Benin works of art. Therefore, scholars attempt to reconstruct Benin art historical chronologies and lineages utilizing a combination of written documents, oral histories, and analysis of physical attributes in the sculptures themselves.

Age: Mid 16th Century – early 17th Century

Provenance: Acquired from a art gallery in Brussels in 2010.

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