Enthroned Ruler with Openwork Crown and Ceremonial Sword, Benin Court Style

Full-length figures bearing the emblems of authority — staff, axe, sword and skull — stand alongside an enthroned ruler and the members of his court, as sentinels of royal power and ancestral protection.

Bronze has long been the language of power in West Africa. Cast by the lost-wax method — in which a model shaped in wax is encased in clay and replaced by molten metal — these works preserve with remarkable fidelity the faces, regalia and ceremonies of the courts that commissioned them.

A ruler sits in majestic stillness beneath a towering openwork crown, its netted dome flanked by two upswept wings and crowned by a slender central spire. The face, polished to a golden lustre, is framed by a high beaded collar.

The body is clothed in a garment of finely netted beadwork, crossed by sashes and hung with pendant ornaments, while stacked bangles encircle the forearms. In the right hand he holds by its ring a ceremonial sword with a pierced, fan-shaped blade, an emblem of royal office.

The warm, brass-like patina, touched with green in the recesses, accentuates the intricate texture of the regalia.