Thermoluminescence - Expertise
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Rooster
Benin, Nigeria
20th century
Bronze
87 cm
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In Benin, roosters are highly-prized oblations for the gods - like, for example, Olokun, god of the ocean and of riches. Popular and widespread motifs, rooster statues stood life-size - or, like this one, larger than life - at the ancestral altars of the crown prince of Benin as well as at those of the king's mother, primary wife and doyenne of his harem. The latter held the title Eson, or "Rooster who crows loudest," meant to describe her role as a leader who both gave orders to the other women in the harem and also arbitrated their disputes.
The presence of a male animal at her altar accentuated the doyenne's distinction from other women in the community and stood for her responsibilities and privileges, which were normally reserved just for men. The rooster thus made reference both to her senior position in the palace and to her strength and aggressiveness. The animal's precise symbolic meaning has, however, not yet been sufficiently researched, though Duchateau offers some potential meanings and functions - amongst others, as protective spirit or ghost.
Cp.:
Felix von LUSCHAN: Die Altertümer von Benin, Band 1, Berlin 1919, S. 337-339.
Kunst aus Benin. Afrikanische Meisterwerke aus der Sammlung Hans Meyer, Grassimuseum, Leipzig 2002, S. 90.
Armand DUCHATEAU: Benin. Kunst einer afrikanischen Königskultur, München 1995, S. 78.
Barbara PLANKENSTEINER (Hg.): Benin. Könige und Rituale. Höfische Kunst aus Nigeria, Wien 2007, S. 398/ 399.
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Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum
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Felix von LUSCHAN: Die Altertümer von Benin, Band 3, Berlin 1919, Tafel 76.
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Museum für Völkerkunde, Hamburg
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William B. FAGG: Bildwerke aus Nigeria, München 1963, Tafel 44.
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British Museum, London
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Philip DARK, W./ B. FORMAN: Die Kunst von Benin, Prag 1960, Tafel 85.
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Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig, Grassimuseum, Slg. Hans Meyer
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Kunst aus Benin. Afrikanische Meisterwerke aus der Sammlung Hans Meyer, Grassimuseum, Leipzig 2002, S. 91.
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Jesus College, Cambridge
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Philip J. C. DARK: An introduction to Benin art and technology, Oxford 1973, Tafel 12.
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Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
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Augustus Henry PITT-RIVERS: Antique Works of Art from Benin, London 1900 (Reprint in New York 1976), S. 49.
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Museum für Völkerkunde, Wien
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Annemarie SCHWEEGER-HEFEL: Afrikanische Bronzen, Wien 1948, Tafel 14.
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Barbara PLANKENSTEINER (Hg.): Benin. Könige und Rituale. Höfische Kunst aus Nigeria, Wien 2007, S. 399.
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Armand DUCHATEAU: Benin. Kunst einer afrikanischen Königskultur, München 1995, S. 79.
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