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King with two accompanying pieces

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The few U-shaped relief panels are attributed to the 18th or 19th century due to their motifs. The king stands in the centre, supported by two accompanying figures, which are interpreted as the priests Osa and Osuan. The king's legs are designed as two fish, between which a snake holds the motif of the trunk hand. This depiction is interpreted as an image of the unity of the king, the ruler of the earth, and Olokun, the lord of the water and the sea. It refers to the special spiritual power of the king, which was increasingly emphasised with the restoration of kingship in the 18th century as compensation for the loss of political and military power.The oral tradition, which interprets the depictions on the panels as images of specific people and events, sees here an image of King Ohen (14th century), whose paralysed legs are interpreted as a sign of his direct descent from the god of the sea and water. The "fish legs" were the physical inheritance of his father Olokun.

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Cataloguing data

Object type
Relief plate (plaque)
Dimensions
Weight: 7,3 kg
Height: 42 cm
Width: 33 cm
Material/Technique
Brass
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 7653

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    18th century-19th century.
    where
    Nigeria
  • Collecting
    who
    Hale & Son - Former Possessors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    Commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon brass foundry guild in the Kingdom of Benin in the 18th or 19th century; ownership before 1897 currently unknown; looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; auctioned by the firm of Hale & Son, 1897; purchased by the Royal Museum of Ethnology, 1897.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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