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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Pendant of a Portuguese horseman
Edo, Benin kingdom, Nigeria
16th century
Medium/Technique
Copper alloy
Dimensions
Length x width: 12.7 x 12.7 cm (5 x 5 in.)
Credit Line
Robert Owen Lehman Collection
Accession NumberL-G 7.4.2012
CollectionsJewelry, Africa and Oceania
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Pendants
This pendant is one of six that display a horse and rider. The rider’s torso and arms are viewed head on, but his lower body and the horse appear in profile. This twisting posture is a rare, dynamic stance in Benin art, one usually associated with foreigners. The horseman’s features and his armor clearly identify him as Portuguese. At his waist is a rapier, and in his right hand he carries a match stick—a forked staff for holding a slow burning match to ignite powder in a cannon.
Provenance16th century, probably commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon, or royal brasscasters guild, by a member of the court of Benin. 1897, looted from the Royal Palace, Benin City, during the British military occupation of Benin by Dr. J.P. Howe, England; by descent within his family to Captain J.S. Howe, R.E. and then to Mrs. R.M. de Pury; June 20, 1961, Mrs. R. M. de Pury and others sale, Sotheby’s, London, lot 138. By 2011, Robert Owen Lehman, Rochester, NY; 2012, promised gift of Robert Owen Lehman to the MFA.