  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
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
