Semi-circular Openwork Plaque

between 1500 and 1897

Benin, African

On View

African: Fit for a King, Level 1, North Wing

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

In a culture without written records, these plaques hung on the walls of interior courtyards of the royal palace and served to recount important events in the history of the kingdom. This work depicts a king with a human torso but with legs formed by mudfish; he needs the help of his two attendants to stand. According to Benin tradition, ailing kings who were thought to have lost their power were put to death. After one legendary oba’s legs became paralyzed, he claimed his legs had been miraculously transformed into mudfish to avoid execution. According to tradition, the mudfish was a symbol of Benin kings because both were capable of crossing into different environments. The African mudfish can move across both land and water; similarly, kings were believed to move across both earthly and spiritual realms. For the same reason, frogs and crocodiles also symbolize kings. The oba’s ability to accomplish great things is symbolized here by the elephant trunk ending in a human hand.

Title Semi-circular Openwork Plaque

Artwork Date between 1500 and 1897

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Benin

Medium Bronze, openwork

Dimensions Overall: 15 3/4 × 14 7/8 × 2 inches (40 × 37.8 × 5.1 cm) Including base (mount): 15 3/4 × 14 7/8 × 4 inches (40 × 37.8 × 10.2 cm)

Classification Metalwork

Department African Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase, with funds from Mr. and Mrs. James A. Beresford

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 72.435

Markings

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Provenance

Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA).
1938, (John Wise Ltd., New York, New York, USA).
Thomas Joyce.
R. K. Granville.
(Sotheby Parke Bernet, Inc., New York, New York, USA);
1972-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

African Masterworks In The Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington and London, 1995, cat. no. 32.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Benin, African, Semi-circular Openwork Plaque, between 1500 and 1897, bronze, openwork. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, with funds from Mr. and Mrs. James A. Beresford, 72.435.