A Very Fine Edo ‘Hip’ Mask / Ornament

Period: 1700-1800

Origin: Nigeria, Africa, Benin, West Africa

Medium: Bronze

Dimension: 16 x 12 x 6 cm (6¹/₄ x 4³/₄ x 2³/₈ inches)

Provenance: Ex Sothebys, London, Antiquities and Tribal Art, 13th December 1977, lot 372
Ex Bonhams, Knightsbridge, Tribal Art, 1st December 1993, lot 19
Ex Private UK collection

CF: For a similar Hip Ornament see: Royal Art of Benin, The Perls Collection; ‘The Metropolitan Museum of Art’, New York, 1992, no. 60, page 166 and ‘Art and Artefacts, The James Hooper Collection’, Steven Phelps, Hutchison & Co, London, 1976, plate 235, page 392, number 1822 for a similar Benin Hip Mask

Literature: Chiefs and titleholders in Benin wear a variety of brass ornaments as part of their elaborate costumes for palace ceremonies. Most are worn singly at the left hip, covering the closure of their wrapped skirts.
     Brass was a material with Royal connotations in Benin and its use was strictly controlled, with guild craftsmen working under the patronage of the court. Brass has a complex meaning. As a material it never corrodes or rusts and thus it stands for permanence and the continuity of Kingship.