ART X EDO

07/11/2025

(Ugie Erha-Oba): Ugie Erha-Oba, is a traditional ceremony that takes place during the annual Igue festival; the ceremony is performed by the Oba(king) of Benin Kingdom in which the king pays homage to the past Obas and all paternal ancestors.

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16/10/2025

•Title - Uvbi | A stained glass piece. “Uvbi” is an Edo word used to refer to the daughters of the King, Chiefs, it is also generally used to refer to a young girl. •Artist - •
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16/10/2025

This brass throne stool, made for Oba Eresoyen of the Benin Kingdom (present-day Edo State, Nigeria) between 1735 and 1750, shows the expertise and symbolic complexity of royal regalia in Benin’s court tradition. Modeled after the throne of the 16th-century Oba Esigie, it honours a lineage of powerful rulers while asserting Eresoyen’s authority as a key patron of brass casting.

The design is rich in layered meaning: entwined pythons link the divine order, which is represented by the upper seat, with the natural world at the base. At the top, symbols of the sun, moon, and cross represent cosmic balance and creation. Ceremonial swords emphasize royal authority, while blacksmith tools (anvil, bellows, tongs, and hammer) evoke the shaping of civilization. The base features motifs from the natural and spiritual realms: monkeys, used in sacrificial rites, and the “trunk hand” (an elephant’s trunk ending in a human hand) symbolize Ọṣun’s hidden power within the forests. Frogs, representing water, allude to the marine deity Olókun, further anchoring the throne in the spiritual cosmology of the Edo people.

13/10/2025

•Salt cellar, 16th century, Edo artist from Benin Kingdom.

Carved for export to Europe, salt cellars originally consisted of two vertically linked spherical containers and served more as an indicator of status than a functional container. This piece is missing its lid and lower section. The figures on the bowl depict Portuguese men, identifiable by their costumes, beaklike noses and straight hair. The most unusual features--two n**e, adult male winged figures--are not typical of European angels or of any African figure, suggesting that the European model was not completely assimilated. The use of surface ornament and size to indicate relative importance are in keeping with Benin court art tradition, although the result here is notably different in style from traditional Benin figures. Featured in the museum’s permanent collection exhibition Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts.

Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company .
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08/10/2025

Standing tall at The National Theatre in Lagos is the statue of an Iyoba. The statue was designed by Felix Idubor (1928–1991). “Mr Idubor was a Nigerian sculptor from Benin City, an African city with a rich history of artistic excellence. He was part of a young group of artists in the 1950s and 1960s who raised awareness of the artistic consciousness of African tradition in an emerging and nascent social milieu. He is sometimes considered one of the pioneers of Nigerian contemporary art. In 1966, he opened Nigeria's first contemporary art gallery in Kakawa street, Lagos. He was very successful in door carvings and was commissioned to carve doors for prominent firms and individuals such as the Cooperative Bank building at Ibadan and the House of Parliament in Lagos.”. - Y. A. Grillo; Juliet Highet. 'Felix Idubor', African Arts, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Autumn, 1968), p. 34.

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25/09/2025

24/09/2025

The Ẹkpẹtin is a finely crafted wooden box originating from the historic Kingdom of Benin, dating between the 17th and 19th centuries. Traditionally carved by members of the Igbesamwan guild, who are highly skilled artisans responsible for producing royal artworks, this box was used to store significant personal or ceremonial valuables, such as coral regalia, sacred items, and other prized possessions.

Its surface is beautifully decorated with symbolic patterns, including stylized serpents and interlacing motifs, each carrying cultural meaning related to power, protection, and royal identity. Far more than a functional container, the Ẹkpẹtin served as a marker of prestige and authority, often belonging to members of the elite or royal household.

23/09/2025

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 352.

Title: (Ukhurhe) Rattle Staff - Oba Akenzua I Standing on an Elephant.
Place of Origin: Court of Benin Kingdom
Medium: Bronze, copper, iron
Dimensions: H. 63 1/2 × W. 2 × (approx.) D. 3 in. (161.3 × 5.1 × 7.6 cm)
Classification:Metal-Implements
Photo Credit :Ann and George Blumenthal Fund, 1974.

In the Benin kingdom of southern Nigeria, rattle staffs, or ukhurhe, are an essential feature of Benin ancestral altars, whether for kings, chiefs, or commoners. These staffs have a hollow rattle chamber near the summit, and they are shaken while uttering prayers at the altars to attract the attention of the ancestors. Ukhurhe may be made of wood or brass, although the brass examples are found only on royal altars.

This staff was created to memorialize Akenzua I, an oba (king) who ruled the Benin kingdom in the early eighteenth century. A rebel chief called Iyase n'Ode challenged Akenzua's reign and civil war ensued. With the help of his military commander, or ezomo, Akenzua ultimately emerged victorious, and the iconography displayed on this ukhurhe refers to this military triumph. In Benin, elephants are a traditional symbol of chiefdom and, according to Benin oral literature, Iyase n'Ode had the ability to change himself into an elephant to vanquish his enemies. Here, Oba Akenzua stands triumphantly on an elephant holding a miniature ukhurhe and a stone axe head, an object associated with warfare and death. Leopards, the preeminent symbol of royalty in Benin art, flank the elephant on either side to suggest the oba's ability to regulate the power of his chiefs. Swords of authority called eben appear in relief along the shaft of the ukhurhe, and toward the bottom a crocodile, representative of the water deity Olokun, indicates the importance of overseas trade to the prosperity of Akenzua's kingdom. At the base of the staff, a second elephant most likely represents the ezomo; his trunk ends in a human hand holding medicinal leaves, a motif in Benin art representing victory and power.

21/09/2025

Ancient great Benin kingdom throne