Object Details
- Benin kingdom court style
- Edo artist
- Label Text
- This mask is worn during the Ododua masking ceremony that protects the king and commemorates the founding of the Benin kingdom. It is similar in form and shares iconography with other masks of this type. The cone shape relates to a special fiber cap worn by certain priests, chiefs and the king. The deadly snakes and crocodiles refer to dangerous spiritual forces that are controlled by herbalist-diviner specialists and the king. Unique to this mask are the small fish seen in relief under the lips and on the sides of the mask. They represent fish used as sacrificial offerings to the "gods of the Benin nation" at a palace shrine.
- Description
- Cast copper alloy cone shaped mask with a human face, crocodiles issuing from the nostrils and snakes descending from the top projection. A relief of mud fish is scattered on the lower portion of the head and the mask is inlaid with iron in the eyes and in two vertical bars on the forehead. The rim of the neck opening is edged with a herringbone braid.
- Provenance
- British Museum, London, 1949
- Paul and Ruth Tishman, New York, by 1966 to 1984
- Walt Disney World, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, 1984 to 2005
- Exhibition History
- Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
- African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 15, 2007-March 31, 2009
- Pavilion, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 2, 2002
- For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
- Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 16, 1968-January 5, 1969; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, August 31-November 1, 1970; University of Texas College of Fine Arts, Austin; City Art Museum, St. Louis, August 20-October 17, 1971; Des Moines Art Center; Huntington Galleries, Huntington, WV
- Masterpieces of African Art: Tishman Collection, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1967
- Arts connus et arts méconnus de l'Afrique noire, Collection Paul Tishman, Musee de l'Homme, Paris, 1966
- Published References
- Arts connus et arts méconnus de l'Afrique noire, Collection Paul Tishman. 1966. Paris: Musee de l'Homme, no. 79.
- Gallagher, Jacki. 1983."Between Realms: The Iconography of Kingship in Benin" in The Art of Power, The Power of Art, Studies in Benin Iconography, Paula Ben-Amos and Arnold Rubin, eds. Los Angeles: Museum of Cultural History, UCLA,page 22, fig. 6.
- Jenke, Veronika. 2007. Explore! African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Exhibition booklet. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 3-4.
- Kreamer, Christine Mullen. 2006. "African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection." Tribal Arts 43, p. 79, no. 4.
- Kreamer, Christine Mullen, Bryna Freyer and Andrea Nicolls. 2007. African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. vi-vii, 8, 26-27, table of contents, no. 2.
- Muze'on Yisra'el. 1967. Masterpieces of African Art: Tishman Collection. Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, no. 115.
- Plankensteiner, Barbara. 2010. Visions of Africa: Benin. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, pp. 61, 111, no. 8
- Robbins, Warren M. and Nancy Ingram Nooter. 1989. African Art in American Collections. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 222, no. 570.
- Sieber, Roy and Arnold Rubin. 1968. Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, p. 78, no. 79.
- Underwood, Leon. 1949. Bronzes of West Africa. London: Alec Tiranti, no. 33.
- Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 136, no. 78.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Credit Line
- Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
- 18th century
- Object number
- 2005-6-2
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Mask
- Medium
- Copper alloy, iron
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 71.1 x 24.1 x 22.3cm (28 x 9 1/2 x 8 3/4in.)
- Geography
- Nigeria
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- crocodile
- snake
- mudfish
- male
- Record ID
- nmafa_2005-6-2
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7ad8b799e-3dd0-457e-a9ee-61f5958fbb89
