Plaque: Equestrian Oba and Attendants (Edo people, Kingdom of Benin,1550 – 1680).During the 16th and
Plaque: Equestrian Oba and Attendants (Edo people, Kingdom of Benin,1550 – 1680).During the 16th and 17th centuries, a guild ofbrass casters created a series of about 900 rectangular brassplaques, cast in relief, for display across the façade of the royalpalace in the Kingdom of Benin (southern Nigeria).A 17th-century Dutch visitor to the court described thesprawling palace complex, with its many large courtyards andgalleries. In the largest rooms, there were wooden pillars, coveredtop to bottom with works depicting the array of court officials. Inthis plaque, the oba (ruler) mounts a horse, flanked byattendants who are rendered on a hierarchical scale that showed theirrelative rank.The plaque is 49.5cm high, 41.9cm wide, and 11.4cm deep. -- source link
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