Over the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a remarkable series of some nine hundred rectangular brass plaques were cast in relief at the Court of Benin by a guild of brass casters for display across at the facade of the royal palace. A seventeenth-century Dutch visitor to the court described the sprawling palace complex, with its many large courtyards and galleries. In the largest rooms, wooden pillars were covered from top to bottom with works depicting the array of officials at the court in great detail. In this example, the king mounting a horse is flanked by attendants rendered on a hierarchical scale that designated their relative rank.
Robert Goldwater recommended the acquisition of this Benin masterpiece from New York gallerist John J. Klejman in 1957. At the time, Klejman claimed it was "the most important plaque which ever appeared on the market." It was the first of three exceptional masterpieces from the Kingdom of Benin acquired under Goldwater's guidance that dramatically transformed the collection. The sixteenth-century <a href="/Collections/search-the-collections/312291">commemorative head of an Oba</a>, and the <a href="/Collections/search-the-collections/318622">Queen Mother ivory pendant mask</a> from the same period, both on view in <a href="/collections/galleries/africa-oceania-and-the-americas/352">Gallery 352</a>, were purchased the following year. Shortly after its acquisition, the plaque was prominently featured on the cover of the MPA's 1958 exhibition <em>Primitive Sculpture in Metal: Bronzes from Benin and Gold from the Americas</em>.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Plaque: Equestrian Oba and Attendants
Date:1550–1680
Geography:Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:Edo peoples
Medium:Brass
Dimensions:H. 19 7/16 x W. 16 1/2 x D. 4 1/2 in. (49.5 x 41.9 x 11.4 cm)
Classification:Metal-Sculpture
Credit Line:The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1965
Accession Number:1978.412.309
Court of Benin, taken from the Royal Palace in 1897 during the British military occupation of Benin; Norman Burrows, Mellon Hall, Maple Bridge, Derbyshire, UK, until 1898; Augustus Pitt-Rivers, Farnham, Dorset, UK, 1898–1957; [K. John Hewett, London, 1957]; [Charles Ratton, Paris, 1957]; [John J. Klejman, New York, 1957]; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, on loan to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1957–1965; Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1965–1978
Museum of Primitive Art. "Benin Bronzes," May 20, 1959–September 6, 1959.
Museum of Primitive Art. "The World of Primitive Art," July 12, 1966–September 11, 1966.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Oceania, Africa and the Americas from The Museum of Primitive Art," May 10–August 17, 1969.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sculpture of Black Africa: Nigeria & Cameroon," June 23, 1971–March 19, 1972.
Seattle Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–February 16, 1975.
American Federation of Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," January 5, 1975–May 15, 1977.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 23, 1975–May 4, 1975.
Dallas Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 8, 1975–July 20, 1975.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," August 25, 1975–October 10, 1975.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," November 9, 1975–December 21, 1975.
Toledo Museum of Art. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," April 11, 1976–May 25, 1976.
Walker Art Center. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," June 27, 1976–August 8, 1976.
Denver Art Museum. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," September 10, 1976–November 7, 1976.
de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Primitive Art/Masterworks," March 12, 1977–May 15, 1977.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Royal Art of Benin from the Perls Collection," January 16–September 13, 1992.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Nelson Rockefeller Vision: In Pursuit of 'The Best' in the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas," October 7, 2013–October 9, 2014.
Pitt-Rivers, Augustus Henry Lane Fox Lt. General. Antique Works of Art from Benin: by Augustus Pitt-Rivers, with a new introduction by Bernard Fagg. New York: Dover Publications, 1976, no. 20, pl. 2, fig. 7–8.
Museum of Primitive Art. Traditional Art of the African Nations in the Museum of Primitive Art. New York: University Publishers, Inc., 1961, no. 55.
Museum of Primitive Art. Masterpieces in the Museum of Primitive Art: Africa, Oceania, North America, Mexico, Central to South America, Peru. Handbook series. New York, NY: Museum of Primitive Art, 1965.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas from the Museum of Primitive Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1969, no. 365.
American Federation of Arts. Primitive Art Masterworks: an exhibition jointly organized by the Museum of Primitive Art and the American Federation of Arts, New York. New York: American Federation of Arts, 1974, Front, no. 75.
Newton, Douglas. Masterpieces of Primitive Art: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978, p. 183.
Eyo, Ekpo, and Frank Willett. Treasures of Ancient Nigeria. New York: Knopf, 1980.
Girshick Ben-Amos, Paula, and Arnold G. Rubin. The Art of Power, the Power of Art: Studies in Benin Iconography. Monograph series (University of California, Los Angeles. Museum of Cultural History), no. 19. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1983.
Tunis, Irwin. "A Note on Benin Plaque Termination Dates." Tribus vol. 32 (December 1983).
Ezra, Kate. Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992, fig. 40.
Girshick Ben-Amos, Paula. The Art of Benin. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995.
Blier, Suzanne Preston. Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of Form. New York: Abrams Books, 1998.
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