Created somewhere between the mid-1500’s to early 1600’s by members of the “Igun Eronmwon”, or the royal guild of bronze casters of the Edo Kingdom, centered on the medieval city of Benin, in southern Nigeria. This was one of many thousands of pieces looted from the royal palace during the British Benin expedition of 1897, when the 900 year old city was razed to ground. This particular Benin Bronze found its way to the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1938 and has been there ever since.
“This head of an Ọba wears layered necklaces of royal coral beads. Tubular beads adorn both the netted cap and slender braids alongside his temples. While representing an individual, his facial features and calm expression are idealized. The thickly cast head once supported a tusk. Immune to corrosion, brass symbolizes royal permanence. A personal religious object, this head sat on an ancestral altar in the Ọba’s palace.”
-The Cleveland Museum of Art
“The first task of any new king (Oba) of Benin City is to create an altar dedicated to his deceased father who reigned before him. The altar (a semi-circular mud platform onto which altar objects are placed) is used to honour the previous Oba's legacy and serves as a point of communication with the deceased Oba.
The new Oba commissions the casting of a commemorative head (uhunmwun elao) which is usually placed on the altar together with other altar pieces such as the ukhurhe rattle staff and the aseberia altar tableau. It is believed among the Edo that the head is the driving force in human nature and is ultimately responsible for a person’s success in life. As such, uhunmwun elao are used to also signify the success and status of previous Obas. Each altar usually contains a number of uhunmwun elao heads (always in pairs) supporting carved ivory tusks.”
-Adenike Cosgrove, via Imo Dara
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