Benin Royal Arts features both custom and historical arts of the Great Benin
Kingdom in Nigeria, West Africa. One of the oldest kingdoms still on earth ruled by Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo
EREDIAUWA II, the king. Her works provide the background for our business and explain the artworks
we have to offer.
Known for its traditions and beliefs, the benin arts are specially made by skilled
craftsmen, according to the requirements of tribal rules and customs. Among the sculpted artworks are masks, figurative sculpture
of past rulers, musical instruments, ceramics, textiles and intricate beadwork costumes.
We
hope that you find something intriguing and interesting in our gallery that will not only please your eye but also will fit
into your home or office collection.
The Benin Kingdom situated in southcentral Nigeria dates to approximately 900 A.D.
The first, or Ogiso, dynasty lasted until 1170, at which time Yoruba rule was imposed from the city of Ife. Oranmiyan, the
son of the Oni of Ife, was sent to Benin City where he wed a Benin woman. She bore him a son, Eweka I, who became the first
Benin Oba. Sometime during the 13th century, Iguegha, a caster, was brought from Ife to craft memorial heads of the Obas.
Terracotta heads in collections have been dated to the late 15th or 16th century and were used by the Ogiso rulers on altars
to their paternal ancestors. Benin art became well known to the West in 1897, after the British Punitive Expedition sacked
the city of Benin and brought thousands of objects back to Europe as war booty.
In the late 1400s, a flourishing and wealthy royal court was in place, with a palace
harboring a vast compound where metalsmiths, carvers and others created objects for the king and his court. The casting of
brass was an art controlled by the king himself; anyone found casting brass without royal permission faced execution.
The Edo--the people of Benin--associated brass, which resists corrosion, with the
permanence and continuity of kingship. Fundamental to Edo belief, as well, was the veneration of ancestors, whose spirits
were thought to protect the living. Cast commemorative heads of deceased kings were displayed on altars at numerous shrines
in the royal palace.
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