Ivory Status Object, Female Figure with Honey Colored Patina from Benin
first half 20th C
Ivory
15 x 5 x 5 cm
Further images
Trade with the Europeans had brought increasing prosperity and prestige to the kingdom in Benin since the early 18th century. With great social prestige came, of course, status objects. A...
Trade with the Europeans had brought increasing prosperity and prestige to the kingdom in Benin since the early 18th century. With great social prestige came, of course, status objects. A special guild of craftsmen - more specifically ivory carvers - began to work for the kings. Only the royal family and high-ranking courtiers had the right to have objects made in ivory. The stocky proportions of the female statue are typical of the ivory carving art of Benin. The woman's body shapes are rather angular. The ivory has a beautiful honey-colored patina.