Object Details
- Local Numbers
- T 2 FON 4 EE 71
- General
- Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
- Local Note
- 31
- Frame value is 28.
- Slide No. T 2 FON 4 EE 71
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Collection Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Place
- Africa
- Benin
- Topic
- Mural painting and decoration
- Animals in art
- Animals in art -- Horses
- Animals in art -- Lions
- Signs and symbols
- Works of art in situ
- Cultural landscapes
- Vernacular architecture
- Photographer
- Elisofon, Eliot
- Culture
- Fon (African people)
- See more items in
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection
- Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Benin
- Extent
- 1 Slides (photographs) (col.)
- Date
- 1971
- Archival Repository
- Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
- Identifier
- EEPA.1973-001, Item EEPA EECL 16579
- Type
- Archival materials
- Slides (photographs)
- Color slides
- Collection Citation
- Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
- Collection Rights
- Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
- Genre/Form
- Color slides
- Scope and Contents
- Earthen bas-reliefs were used as an essential decorative feature in the facades of most of the palaces. For a society without written documents, these bas-reliefs serve as a unique record of the past. They represent the most significant events in the evolution of the Fon people and their empire, glorifying the military victories and power of each king and documenting the Fon people's myths, customs and rituals. The walls show that the military might of the Abomey kingdom was based, in part, on companies of female warriors who matched their male counterparts in fierceness and courage. They also portray mythical animals that symbolized the characteristics of the kings and their power as rulers. During his trip to Dahomey (now Benin), Elisofon visited the royal palace at the town of Abomey, in the Fon people region. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.
- Collection Restrictions
- Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
- Record ID
- ebl-1536870822481-1536871012449-1
