Mask. Benin, 20th century

Ceremonial mask. Benin, Nigeria, second half of the 20th century.
Bronze.
Measurements: 20 x 30 x 13 cm.
Weight: 2.4 kg.

The sculpture was cast in bronze using the ancient “lost-wax” casting technique. The Beninese have worked with bronze using this technique since at least the 13th century, and this knowledge may have reached them through contact with Eastern peoples. In any case, it is a technique with a very long tradition, used, among other cultures, in ancient Egypt.
At the end of the 12th century, the first “oba” or monarch of Benin, Eweka—heir to the Yoruba kingdom of Ife and the Edo people—was crowned. From that moment on, Benin would gradually establish itself as a strong monarchy, one that accepted the Yoruba principle of religious submission to the “oni” or king of Ife, but adapted its institutions to the traditions of the Edo people, from whom Eweka descended on his mother’s side. With regard to artistic production, legends state that, at the end of the 13th century, the Oba Oguola asked the Oni for help, and the Oni sent a sculptor named Iguegha from Ife. This artist, of great mythical fame, was the founder of the royal school of Benin, although the truth is that, with few exceptions, we know of no genuine works of art from this monarchy until the late 15th century, coinciding with the time when the Portuguese arrived in the kingdom’s capital. Although contact with the colonists was not the starting point of Benin art, it did provide a significant boost to it, given the new trade routes that had opened up.