A bronze sculpture of a servant in the style of Benin

A bronze sculpture in the style of Benin depicts a servant in Nigeria, holding a leopard on its shoulder and hand. The sculpture stands on flattened feet, covered with a short shirt. The naturalistic casted torso and arms are surmounted by an ovoid head with a decorated, cap-like coiffure.
The sculpture has damage on the left side of the torso, which has resulted in a dent. Otherwise, the figure is in exceptionally good condition. Signs of age can be seen particularly in the figure's clothing, which we have reproduced using enlargements (s. the following photos).

It is difficult to classify this rare figure stylistically, as there are no comparable examples in the Digital Benin category "eyo-oto". In any case, this is an excellent quality Benin cast, which can be explained in terms of content in a larger overall context if one combines the symbol of the power of the leopard, which plays a major role in the court of the Oba, with a servant who carries this animal on his shoulder, possibly to his master - the Oba.

Sometimes customers ask us for reports on the age of bronzes. Most of the bronzes we buy do not have an age report and we judge our bronzes based on artistic aspects rather than necessarily on the time of creation. But every customer has different priorities. To make your own judgment, almost all of our bronzes are extremely magnified, which allows you to judge the age with some experience. Otherwise, we recommend that you contact an analysis institute of your choice, which may provide additional information on the age with TL analysis. Our own "prima vista" analyses are not part of our agreements with our customers and we are also not responsible for incorrect assessments. It is best for each customer to choose a laboratory of their own choice if the age is important to them.

Height: 64 cm
Length: 27 cm
Weight: 7,9 kg