Large bronze / brass African Benin rooster

Large bronze / brass African rooster.
Height 55 cm
Wide 20 cm
Depth 40 cm

Price at request

Brass roosters are placed on ancestral altars commemorating the queen mothers of Benin. They stand for fowl and other animals that are sacrificed during rituals honoring royal ancestors. These explicitly male creatures acknowledge that the queen mother is different from other women and shares many powers and privileges with men. In depicting these birds, Benin brass casters indulge their love of dense overall patterns. Although stylized, these incised designs deftly suggest the rooster's showy plumage, scaly legs, and dimpled comb.

ROYAL BRONZE ROOSTER OKPA - BINI - BENIN NIGERIA

The Kingdom of Benin , south of present-day Nigeria , is renowned for its magnificent bronzes and ivory carvings.
These works constitute one of the greatest treasures of humanity and are among the centerpieces of museums all over the world.

The Oba 's palace , where the sumptuous royal shrines were located, was considered the center of the capital and the kingdom.

Since the reign of Oba Esigie, in the 16th century, representations of the rooster or Okpa were installed on the altars dedicated to the queen-mother, in Benin City, in the palace of the Oba .

The representation is always made in a very noble pose with great attention to detail: crest, feathers.
The patterns are made by fine incisions directly on the metal.

Often the base was decorated with guilloché, intertwined motifs, representing "the rope of the world".

It is surprising that a male animal is intended for the altars of queen-mothers, but for the Edo, this one is superior to other women, sharing the powers and privileges of men.