An early double-faced Benin bronze head

An early double-faced Benin bronze head with bared teeth, the nose broad, curved and protruding, framed by large bulging eyes, snakes winding out of the nostrils, between the faces on each side is a hand holding a short object, above the faces are small feet arranged in a circle; thin-walled with several cracks and small holes, greenish encrusted patina of different layers. From a German private collection.

Lit.: Philip J. C. Dark, An introduction to Benin art and technology, Oxford 1973. Phillips, T. (ed), Africa. The Art of a Continent, 1999. Paula Girshick Ben-Amos, The art of Benin, 1995. Ekpo Eyo, Frank Willett, Kunstschätze aus Alt-Nigeria, Mainz 1983. Barbara Plankensteiner (Hg.), Benin. Könige und Rituale. Höfische Kunst aus Nigeria, Wien 2007. Ezra, Kate. Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kaplan Flora S. Dr., ed. Images of power: Art of the Royal Court of Benin.

Height: 18 cm

Weight: 1 kg