A bone sculpture - Edo - Nigeria
07
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01
hour
49
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Current bid
€ 45
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Selected by Dimitri André
Holds a postgraduate degree in African studies and 15 years experience in African art.
Estimate € 500 - € 650
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A bone sculpture from Nigeria in Edo culture.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
An Edo figurine, Nigeria.
Edo figurines are integral components of the artistic and religious traditions of the Edo people, primarily associated with the historic Benin Kingdom located in present-day southern Nigeria. These figurines form part of a broader corpus of sculpture that reflects the kingdom’s complex social hierarchy, cosmology, and ancestral veneration practices. Typically made from brass, bronze, ivory, or wood, Edo figurines occupy ritual, commemorative, and symbolic roles within court and shrine contexts.
Edo figurines often represent ancestors, royal personages, warriors, and spiritual beings, serving as visual mediators between the living and the spiritual realm. These sculptures were used to honor the deceased, reinforce political authority, and embody historical narratives central to the identity of the Benin Kingdom. Figurines also appear in altars and shrines where they facilitate communication with ancestors and deities, ensuring their continued protection and guidance.
The formal characteristics of Edo figurines reflect the Benin aesthetic emphasis on naturalism blended with idealization. The figures exhibit carefully modeled anatomical details, proportionate and balanced forms, and intricate surface decoration that includes scarification, jewelry, and regalia indicative of rank and status. Faces are often characterized by calm, composed expressions, with high foreheads and almond-shaped eyes symbolizing wisdom and spiritual insight.
Brass and bronze casting, particularly through the lost-wax process, is a hallmark of Edo sculpture, although wooden and ivory figurines also play important roles. These materials not only signify wealth and power but are also believed to possess spiritual potency. The casting techniques employed demonstrate advanced metallurgical knowledge and artistic skill, underscoring the sophistication of the Benin artistic tradition.
Edo figurines are closely linked to the kingdom’s political and religious institutions, especially the Oba (king) and his court. The production and maintenance of these sculptures were often controlled by guilds of specialist artisans who operated under royal patronage. The figures reinforced the ideology of divine kingship, with many serving as commemorative portraits or symbolic representations of historical events and cosmological principles.
Historical disruptions, including the British punitive expedition of 1897, resulted in the dispersal of many Edo figurines from their original contexts, leading to their presence in global museum collections. Despite this dispersal, Edo communities continue to maintain and produce figurative sculpture, preserving the cultural and spiritual values embodied by these objects.
The enduring significance of Edo figurines lies in their ability to convey complex social, political, and religious meanings. They embody the intersection of artistry, history, and spirituality within the Benin Kingdom and serve as tangible links between past and present, the human and the divine.
References:
Egharevba, Jacob U. A Short History of Benin. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1968.
Barber, Karin. The Generation of Plays: Yoruba Popular Life in Theater. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.
Drewal, Henry John, and John Pemberton. Benin Studies. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992.
Fagg, William. Nigerian Images. London: Lund Humphries, 1963.
Peacock, D.C.A., and John Pemberton. Benin: The City of Blood. London: Thames & Hudson, 1979.
Picton, John. Art of the Benin Kingdom. London: British Museum Press, 1997.
Seller's Story
For over twenty-five years, Wolfgang Jaenicke has been active as a collector and, for the past two decades, as a specialist dealer in African art, with a particular focus on material often subsumed under the term “Tribal Art”. His early engagement with cultural history was shaped by his father’s extensive archive on the former “German Colonies”, a collection of documents, publications and artefacts that introduced him to the evidentiary and historical significance of objects at a young age.
Jaenicke pursued studies in ethnology, art history and comparative law at the Freie Universität Berlin. Motivated by an interest in cultural dynamics beyond the limitations of academic formalism, he left the university to undertake extended research and travel in West and Central Africa. His fieldwork and professional activities took him through Cameroon, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana, establishing long-term relationships with artists, collectors, researchers and local institutions.
From 2002 to 2012 he lived primarily in Mali, based in Bamako and Ségou. During this period he directed Tribalartforum, a gallery housed in a historic colonial building overlooking the Ségou harbour. The gallery became a notable site for contemporary and historical cultural production, hosting exhibitions of Bamana sculpture and ceramics, as well as photographic works including those of Malick Sidibé, whose images of the 1970s youth culture in Mali remain internationally influential. The outbreak of the war in Mali in 2012 necessitated the closure of the gallery.
Following his departure from Mali, Jaenicke established his base of operations in Lomé, Togo, where he and his partners maintain a permanent branch. The Jaenicke-Njoya GmbH, founded sixteen years earlier, serves as the organisational and legal framework for these activities. In 2018, the Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke opened its Berlin location opposite Charlottenburg Palace, operating today with a team of approximately twelve specialists.
A significant focus of the gallery’s curatorial and research work lies in West African bronzes and terracotta. As part of ongoing efforts toward transparency and precise cultural documentation, Jaenicke collaborated with the Technische Universität Berlin’s “Translocation Project”, contributing insight into the circulation of archaeological and ethnographic objects within the international art trade in Lomé. The gallery maintains continuous dialogue with national museums across West Africa and regularly publishes updates on its activities in Lomé and Berlin via its website: wolfgang-jaenicke
Jaenicke’s practice combines long-term field engagement with a commitment to provenance research, museum-level documentation, and the ethical stewardship of cultural heritage. His work continues to bridge local knowledge networks and international scholarly discourse.
An Edo figurine, Nigeria.
Edo figurines are integral components of the artistic and religious traditions of the Edo people, primarily associated with the historic Benin Kingdom located in present-day southern Nigeria. These figurines form part of a broader corpus of sculpture that reflects the kingdom’s complex social hierarchy, cosmology, and ancestral veneration practices. Typically made from brass, bronze, ivory, or wood, Edo figurines occupy ritual, commemorative, and symbolic roles within court and shrine contexts.
Edo figurines often represent ancestors, royal personages, warriors, and spiritual beings, serving as visual mediators between the living and the spiritual realm. These sculptures were used to honor the deceased, reinforce political authority, and embody historical narratives central to the identity of the Benin Kingdom. Figurines also appear in altars and shrines where they facilitate communication with ancestors and deities, ensuring their continued protection and guidance.
The formal characteristics of Edo figurines reflect the Benin aesthetic emphasis on naturalism blended with idealization. The figures exhibit carefully modeled anatomical details, proportionate and balanced forms, and intricate surface decoration that includes scarification, jewelry, and regalia indicative of rank and status. Faces are often characterized by calm, composed expressions, with high foreheads and almond-shaped eyes symbolizing wisdom and spiritual insight.
Brass and bronze casting, particularly through the lost-wax process, is a hallmark of Edo sculpture, although wooden and ivory figurines also play important roles. These materials not only signify wealth and power but are also believed to possess spiritual potency. The casting techniques employed demonstrate advanced metallurgical knowledge and artistic skill, underscoring the sophistication of the Benin artistic tradition.
Edo figurines are closely linked to the kingdom’s political and religious institutions, especially the Oba (king) and his court. The production and maintenance of these sculptures were often controlled by guilds of specialist artisans who operated under royal patronage. The figures reinforced the ideology of divine kingship, with many serving as commemorative portraits or symbolic representations of historical events and cosmological principles.
Historical disruptions, including the British punitive expedition of 1897, resulted in the dispersal of many Edo figurines from their original contexts, leading to their presence in global museum collections. Despite this dispersal, Edo communities continue to maintain and produce figurative sculpture, preserving the cultural and spiritual values embodied by these objects.
The enduring significance of Edo figurines lies in their ability to convey complex social, political, and religious meanings. They embody the intersection of artistry, history, and spirituality within the Benin Kingdom and serve as tangible links between past and present, the human and the divine.
References:
Egharevba, Jacob U. A Short History of Benin. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1968.
Barber, Karin. The Generation of Plays: Yoruba Popular Life in Theater. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.
Drewal, Henry John, and John Pemberton. Benin Studies. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992.
Fagg, William. Nigerian Images. London: Lund Humphries, 1963.
Peacock, D.C.A., and John Pemberton. Benin: The City of Blood. London: Thames & Hudson, 1979.
Picton, John. Art of the Benin Kingdom. London: British Museum Press, 1997.
Seller's Story
For over twenty-five years, Wolfgang Jaenicke has been active as a collector and, for the past two decades, as a specialist dealer in African art, with a particular focus on material often subsumed under the term “Tribal Art”. His early engagement with cultural history was shaped by his father’s extensive archive on the former “German Colonies”, a collection of documents, publications and artefacts that introduced him to the evidentiary and historical significance of objects at a young age.
Jaenicke pursued studies in ethnology, art history and comparative law at the Freie Universität Berlin. Motivated by an interest in cultural dynamics beyond the limitations of academic formalism, he left the university to undertake extended research and travel in West and Central Africa. His fieldwork and professional activities took him through Cameroon, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana, establishing long-term relationships with artists, collectors, researchers and local institutions.
From 2002 to 2012 he lived primarily in Mali, based in Bamako and Ségou. During this period he directed Tribalartforum, a gallery housed in a historic colonial building overlooking the Ségou harbour. The gallery became a notable site for contemporary and historical cultural production, hosting exhibitions of Bamana sculpture and ceramics, as well as photographic works including those of Malick Sidibé, whose images of the 1970s youth culture in Mali remain internationally influential. The outbreak of the war in Mali in 2012 necessitated the closure of the gallery.
Following his departure from Mali, Jaenicke established his base of operations in Lomé, Togo, where he and his partners maintain a permanent branch. The Jaenicke-Njoya GmbH, founded sixteen years earlier, serves as the organisational and legal framework for these activities. In 2018, the Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke opened its Berlin location opposite Charlottenburg Palace, operating today with a team of approximately twelve specialists.
A significant focus of the gallery’s curatorial and research work lies in West African bronzes and terracotta. As part of ongoing efforts toward transparency and precise cultural documentation, Jaenicke collaborated with the Technische Universität Berlin’s “Translocation Project”, contributing insight into the circulation of archaeological and ethnographic objects within the international art trade in Lomé. The gallery maintains continuous dialogue with national museums across West Africa and regularly publishes updates on its activities in Lomé and Berlin via its website: wolfgang-jaenicke
Jaenicke’s practice combines long-term field engagement with a commitment to provenance research, museum-level documentation, and the ethical stewardship of cultural heritage. His work continues to bridge local knowledge networks and international scholarly discourse.
Details
Ethnic group/ culture
Edo
Country of Origin
Nigeria
Material
Bone
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Fair condition
Title of artwork
A bone sculpture
Height
16 cm
Weight
160 g
Sold by
GermanyVerified
protop
Rechtliche Informationen des Verkäufers
- Unternehmen:
- Jaenicke Njoya GmbH
- Repräsentant:
- Wolfgang Jaenicke
- Adresse:
- Jaenicke Njoya GmbH
Klausenerplatz 7
14059 Berlin
GERMANY - Telefonnummer:
- +493033951033
- Email:
- w.jaenicke@jaenicke-njoya.com
- USt-IdNr.:
- DE241193499
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