The antique bronze sculptures and ivory carvings from the West African kingdom of Benin range among the most important and valuable works of art from Africa. In... » 

The antique bronze sculptures and ivory carvings from the West African kingdom of Benin range among the most important and valuable works of art from Africa. Included in the corpus are elaborate bas-relief plaques, stately commemorative king’s heads and towering elephant tusks embellished with detailed figurative scenes illustrating life at court and the heroic deeds of kings and warriors. These artworks glorified the king as the political and spiritual head of his people and honored his ancestors. The detailed workmanship and outstanding aesthetic quality of Benin’s royal sculptures has been compared to the work of the celebrated Renaissance artist, Benvenuto Cellini. Its wealth of iconographic detail conveys the sumptuousness of the royal court and its historical importance as a regional powerhouse in West Africa from the 16 th through the 19 th century. «