{"product_id":"a-portuguese-bronze-head","title":"A Portuguese bronze head","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Portuguese bronze head in the Ife style, from the Benin City region, Nigeria.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis copper alloy head, attributed to the artistic tradition of the Kingdom of Benin and belonging to the iconography known as the “Portuguese” style, features deliberately exaggerated facial features, centered around a narrow, vertical face dominated by an exceptionally long and prominent nose, large, bulging eyes outlined in high relief, thick, overlapping lips, and a chin extended by a short beard whose surface is enlivened by fine, undulating incisions; these features, which are more typological than truly portraiture-like, contribute to the conventional representation of Europeans in Beninese court art. The head is adorned with a headdress reminiscent of a helmet or a European cap with a wide, upturned brim, surmounted by a domed cap decorated with a particularly delicate network of incised motifs—volutes, dots, and plant forms—which contrasts with the largely smooth surfaces of the face; at the back, the sculpture extends into an elongated, slightly flared shell, while the lateral areas beneath the brim are structured by vertical striations that may suggest hair or an ornamental treatment of the headdress. The surface bears an ancient and varied patina, blending reddish-brown, green, and ochre tones, as well as cracks, lacunae, and corrosion-induced perforations visible particularly on the crown and one cheek, bearing witness to the material history of the cast iron and its aging. Historically, this type of image fits into the context of the relations established from the late 15th century onward between the Kingdom of Benin and Portuguese navigators and merchants: in the art produced for the Oba’s court, the European figure is not merely a depiction of a foreign appearance but can also serve as a symbol of contact with the maritime world, the circulation of wealth, and access to prestigious materials such as brass and copper; historiography has thus often linked these representations to the realm of Olokun, a deity associated with the sea and prosperity. This head thus combines an observation of otherness with political codification: the exaggeration of physical features and clothing makes the foreigner immediately identifiable, while the mastery of lost-wax casting and the sophistication of the decoration place it within a visual language of prestige specific to the workshops associated with the Benin court, where the depiction of the Portuguese could symbolize both the presence of the foreigner and the commercial, diplomatic, and symbolic networks upon which part of royal power was based.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"http:\/\/jaenicke-njoya.com\/002.anhang\/mode.portugal.16.717.century.jpg\" width=\"236\" height=\"354\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAround 1472, Portuguese sailors were the first Europeans to reach the Bay of Benin. They were impressed by the art treasures they saw there, especially the works of bronze, ivory, wood and terracotta. The most politically significant state in the region was the Kingdom of Benin. Especially between Benin and Portugal developed a variety of political, diplomatic and trade relations. They were the most important in the region between Volta and Niger, which became known as the Slave Coast, and where Portugal developed intense activities.\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording of Kathryn Wysocki Gunch, belong to the reign of Oba Orhogbua 1550 - 1578 and not of the reign of his father Oba Esigie 1504 - 1550;\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKathryn Wysocki Gunch , The Benin Plaques. A 16th Century Imperial Monument.\u003cbr\u003e\"I tryed to construct a timeline according the pattern of the flanges. An attempt which tryed already Philip Dark and Frank Willet with other arguments based on the appearance of the plaques.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of the information is generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInv. No. MAZ21543\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHeight: 18 cm\u003cbr\u003eWeight: 1.1 kg\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54744958927171,"sku":"MAZ21543","price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0631\/3797\/2463\/files\/MAZ21543.jpg?v=1786884022","url":"https:\/\/wolfgang-jaenicke.com\/products\/a-portuguese-bronze-head","provider":"Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke","version":"1.0","type":"link"}