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Horn Blower

Photo: Peter Herrmann

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Horn Blower

Benin-Culture, Nigeria
Bronze
63 cm
Edited in the net since January 2023

The clothing worn by this horn player is reminiscent of a very common type already described by Luschan.

The figure wears an ornate wrap-around skirt and a poncho that leaves the sides of his torso exposed, held in place with a belt adorned with an animal mask. In typical fashion, the waistcloth is decorated with a stiff, pointed appendage, while the horn is straight and held in abnormally long hands.

In the Viennese Catalogue Benin. Kings and Rituals. Court Arts from Nigeria, Barbara Blackmun describes the helmet as a beehive-like cap adorned with upright feathers in which a pattern of wavy lines is engraved. Around his neck, the figure wears a leopard-claw necklace.

Vgl.:
Felix von LUSCHAN: Die Altertümer von Benin, Band 1-3, Berlin 1919, S. 292/ 293.
William B. FAGG: Bildwerke aus Nigeria, München 1963, S. 58.
Barbara PLANKENSTEINER (Hg.): Benin. Kings and Rituals. Court Arts from Nigeria, Vienna 2007, S. 315.

Grey Line
Similar objects :  
Illustration:
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum  
Felix von LUSCHAN: Die Altertümer von Benin, Band 1-3, Berlin 1919, Tafel 72.
Grey Line
British Museum, London  
William B. FAGG: Bildwerke aus Nigeria, München 1963, S. 59.
Grey Line
The Trustees of the National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh  
Barbara PLANKENSTEINER (Hg.): Benin. Könige und Rituale. Höfische Kunst aus Nigeria, Wien 2007, S. 315.