Lot 73
  • 73

Plaque en Bronze, Edo, Royaume du Benin, Nigeria, XVIe-XVIIe siècles

Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 EUR
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Description

  • Plaque en Bronze, Edo
  • Bronze
  • haut. 34 cm
  • 13 2/5 in

Provenance

Collection René Rasmussen, Paris, avant 1955
Collection Morris Pinto, Londres
Sotheby’s, Londres, "Pinto Collection of Tribal Art", 9 mai 1977, n° 89
Collection privée, Londres
Sotheby’s, Londres, 3 novembre 1982, n° 179
Collection Udo et Wally Horstmann, Zug
Collection privée, Paris, acquis ca. 1990

Exhibited

Paris, Cercle Volney, Les arts africains, 3 juin - 7 juillet 1955
Pau, musée des Beaux-Arts, Sculptures de l’Afrique Noire, décembre 1961 - janvier 1962
London, South London Art Gallery, African Sculpture From Private Collections in London, 19 octobre - 8 novembre 1979
Québec, musée des Civilisations, Arts du Nigeria dans les collections privées françaises, 23 octobre 2012 - 21 avril 2013 

Literature

Lejard, Les arts africains, 1955, n° 202, listé (collection René Rasmussen, Paris)
Baisieux (de),  Sculptures de l’Afrique Noire, 1961, n° 140, pl. III
Auld et Philips, African Sculpture From Private Collections in London, 1979, n.p., n° 110
Lebas, Arts du Nigeria dans les collections privées françaises, 2012, p. 3 et 261, n° 3

Condition

Please contact the department for condition report +33 (0)1 53 05 52 67 ; alexis.maggiar@sothebys.com
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Catalogue Note

Cette œuvre s'impose parmi les témoins aussi remarquables que singuliers du prestigieux corpus des plaques en bronze du royaume de Benin - art dédié à la glorification du souverain (Oba) et de sa cour. 

Datées des XVIe-XVIIe siècles, ces plaques destinées à orner les piliers du palais royal dépeignent pour la plupart - comme ici - le cérémonial de la cour. Elles ont pour sujet central le chef (représenté en particulier sous les traits du chef-guerrier) et respectent le principe de la « proportion hiérarchique » indiquant pour chaque sujet son importance au sein du royaume. Ici le chef-guerrier (l'Oba ou son second, l'Iyase) arbore la pose et les emblèmes de son haut rang : épée eben brandie de la main droite, coiffe ronde à pendeloques latérales, collier de perles odigba à rangs multiples orné de dents de léopard, jupe nouée sur le flanc gauche et anneaux de chevilles. Le petit personnage placé à sa droite figure un musicien, dont le rôle était d'accompagner l'Oba lors de ses sorties du palais. 

Au très grand classicisme du sujet répond ici sa prodigieuse interprétation. La force des volumes projetés en très haut relief redouble dans la concentration des motifs très finement élaborés. Elle se distingue par les "enlèvements" marquant les bras et l'abdomen, et venant émousser le relief des emblèmes parant la tête de l'Oba. Les analyses scientifiques (macroscopie et microscopie en lumière visible et infrarouge) démontrent l’absence de toute trace d'outil métallique à la surface du bronze et concluent à des enlèvements à l'étape de l'épreuve en cire - enlèvements dont la forme identifierait le pouce du sculpteur. La préciosité du métal "conduisant à refondre toute plaque considérée ratée" (Plankensteiner, communication personnelle, mars 2016), confirme l'achèvement volontairement singulier de cette plaque, dont la signification nous échappe et qui fascina les prestigieux collectionneurs qui la possédèrent.   

Edo bronze plaque, Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria

This plaque is a unique example - both remarkable and unconventional - of the prestigious bronze plaques from the Kingdom of Benin - an art form dedicated to glorifying the king (Oba) and his court.

Dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, these plaques were designed to decorate the pillars of the royal palaces. They mostly depict - as is the case here - scenes from the ceremonial court.  The core subject is the chief (represented in particular as the warrior-chief) and they adhere to the principle of "hierarchical proportion", thus indicating the importance of each subject within the kingdom. Here the warrior-chief, (the Oba or his second in command, the 'Iyase) strikes a pose and exhibits emblems consistent with his high rank: an eben sword, brandished in his right hand, a rounded coiffure with side pendants, an odigba multi-strand pearl necklace adorned with leopard teeth, a skirt knotted on the left flank, and anklets. The small figure on his right is a musician, whose role was to accompany the Oba during his outings outside the palace.

The great classicism of the subject of this plaque stands in contrast to its extraordinary interpretation. The force of the volumes, projected in very high relief, is further enhanced by the concentration of finely drawn motifs. This remarkable plaque is notable for the "removals" marking the arm and abdomen, and blunting the relief of the insignia adorning the head of the Oba. Scientific analysis (visible light and infra-red macroscopy and microscopy), reveal the absence of any markings made by a metal tool to the bronze surface which indicates the removals must have taken place during the wax model phase - removals which would seem to identify the thumb of the sculptor. Metal was considered highly valuable "leading to recast any plaque considered unsuccessful" (Plankensteiner, personal communication, March 2016), which confirms that the unique aspect of this plaque was deliberate. Although significance of this plaque still escapes us, it has remained a source of fascination for the illustrious collectors who have owned it over the years.