Head (Uhunmwun Elao)

Public Domain

18th/early 19th century

Edo, Kingdom of Benin
Nigeria
Coastal West Africa

This brass head was commissioned by a newly crowned king for an altar commemorating a previous ruler, most likely the king’s father. Its shape imitates the regal coral-beaded collar and cap and served as the pedestal for a carved elephant tusk, the white color of which signaled the king’s divine and sacred nature. In Benin thought, the head is an important symbol of authority and power. Through this portrait a king channeled his deified ancestors to vitalize and protect his reign.

Status: On View, Gallery 137
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Edo
Title: Head (Uhunmwun Elao)
Place: Nigeria (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1701–1825
Medium: Brass
Dimensions: H.: 32.4 cm (12 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Major Acquisitions Centennial Endowment
Reference Number: 2003.16
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/180750/manifest.json

Museum fur Volkerkunde, Vienna (organizer), BENIN–Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria, May 9–September 3, 2007, cat.; traveled to Musee du quai Branly, Paris, October 2, 2007–January 6, 2008, Ethnologisches Museum-Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, February 7–May 25, 2008, Art Institute of Chicago, July 10-September 21, 2008, cat. (Chicago only).

Oba Ovonramwen (r. 1888-97, died 1914), Benin City, Kingdom of Benin, before 1897; probably taken during the British military raid. Dr. Hans Meyer (died 1929), Leipzig, Germany, 1900 [receipt from Jacques Seligmann and Company; in curatorial file]; by descent to his wife, Mrs. Hans Meyer, 1929; sold to Jacques Seligmann and Company, New York, 1933; sold to Mrs. George W. Crawford (born Annie Laurie; later Mrs. Russell B. Aitken starting in 1957; died 1984), 1940; by descent to her husband, Russell B. Aitken, 1984; sold, Christie’s, New York, April 3, 2003, lot 62, to the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.