A Benin hunter, Nigeria, a figure, crafted through the lost-wax casting technique in bronze, this piece takes the shape of a bearded male figure, assumed to be a hunter. The figure is depicted kneeling on the right knee, adorned with an antelope draped around the shoulders. Positioned to the right side is a small dog with a quadrangular bell hanging from its neck. The hunter is equipped with a helmet and carries a quiver, a bow is held in the left hand of the hunter. Both figures are elevated on a square platform base featuring intricate openwork linear and circular decorations on all sides; it has suffered some damage.

More details on the British Museum: britishmuseum.org/collection/object/catalogue/5_Af195211. 1. Last photos of the sequence.

A Benin-hunter from the 1897 punishment expedition how a terrible "restored" Benin object is looking like:. It would called "recent", if we wouldn´t know its provenance.
by Lt. Stuart Wilmot Nicholson (Later Adml. Nicholson, O.B.E. Probably 17th-18th cent. work from IGBIRRA or IGALA, IDAH region on Niger c. 90 miles N-E of Benin.The outstanding exemplare in the British Museum shows us, what happens,if Benin bronzes were "restored" by Museum conservators. In the 1960s and 1970s there was a tendency to remove any patina and return the objects to their supposed original state. Even if this largely no longer happens today, it still shows that the context of finds was largely destroyed by international Museums during the qoted period. Thanks to Digital Benin: there are still copies that survived the “cleaning madness” unscathed and are still in its original state.

A similar sculpture, probably from the same sculptor, was exhibited in the Benin-Bronze exhibition of Wolfgang-Jaenicke Gallery 1.8.- 15.10. 2018. The Commision of Museums and Monuments, Abuja, Nigeria, was informed about this exhibition/bronze. Repatriation claims were not made. These claims expire three years after publication.

sold

Height: 52 cm
Width: 20 cm
Weight: 12,6 kg