A bronze sculpture - Plaque - Benin - Nigeria
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Selected by Dimitri André
Holds a postgraduate degree in African studies and 15 years experience in African art.
Estimate € 4,000 - € 4,400
 | €340 | |
|---|---|---|
 | €320 | |
 | €300 | |
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This original Benin bronze relief plaque from Nigeria depicts a Portuguese artilleryman surrounded by five manillas and has provenance from Nigeria.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Relief Plaque Depicting a Portuguese Artilleryman with Five Manillas
Origin: Kingdom of Benin, present-day Nigeria, Edo culture
Date: In the tradition of Benin court art of the 16th–17th century; the date of manufacture of the present plaque has not been conclusively established
Material: Copper alloy, traditionally described as bronze
Technique: Relief casting, presumably using the lost-wax process
Dimensions: Approx. 51.5 × 36.5 cm, height × width, according to the laboratory report; orientation of the measurements subject to verification
Inventory number: MAZ34586
Collection: Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke
Exhibition: Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke, 2022
Provenance: Nigeria.
Since at least 2018 (the Translocation project at the Technical University of Berlin), the Commission of Museums and Monuments, Abuja (NCMM), has been aware of our trade in Benin bronzes. No restitution claims have been made since then.
Scientific examination: Ralf Kotalla Laboratory, thermoluminescence report no. 22R090826, dated 27 October 2026
Mount: Metal support with wooden base, belonging to the inventory of Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke
Description
The rectangular relief plaque depicts a bearded European military figure standing frontally, identifiable through his distinctive clothing, weapons, and iconographic attributes as a Portuguese soldier, more specifically an artilleryman. His head is covered by a rounded, helmet-like headdress with a pronounced horizontal band across the forehead. Finely incised sections of hair fall down either side of his face towards the shoulders. His facial features are carefully articulated, with large almond-shaped eyes, a prominent nose, a sculpturally defined mouth, and a long beard decorated with vertical striations. The figure wears a close-fitting, buttoned jacket, a short, deeply pleated skirt, patterned breeches, and high boots. In his right hand, he holds a long, vertically positioned linstock, a staff used in the operation of early firearms and artillery. Its characteristic forked, three-part terminal probably served to hold a length of burning match cord, allowing the gunner to ignite the priming charge of a cannon while maintaining a certain distance from the weapon. His left hand grasps the hilt of a sword extending diagonally downward, reinforcing his military identity. The figure is surrounded by five horseshoe-shaped metal rings with thickened terminals, identifiable as manillas. Two appear in the upper section of the composition, one beside the figure on the right, and two in the lower section. The background is embellished with finely engraved geometric and floral motifs. The pronounced differences in relief depth between the central figure, the manillas, and the ornamented background create a carefully structured composition and emphasize the prominence of the central figure. The plaque is displayed on a metal support with a rectangular wooden base. This base belongs to the inventory of Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke and does not constitute an original component of the historical artwork.
Art-Historical Context
The representation belongs to an important iconographic category within the courtly metalworking tradition of the Kingdom of Benin, in which Europeans, particularly Portuguese merchants, soldiers, and diplomatic representatives, appear as prominent subjects. From the late 15th century onwards, diplomatic and commercial relations developed between the Kingdom of Benin and Portugal, involving exchanges of copper alloys, textiles, luxury goods, and military technology. The depiction of a Portuguese artilleryman reflects this early period of contact between West Africa and Europe. Particularly significant is the upright linstock, whose forked terminal suggests the use of a burning match in the operation of early artillery. This attribute permits a more specific identification than the general designation of an armed Portuguese figure. The individual may represent a Portuguese gunner, known as a bombardeiro. The combination of sword and linstock associates personal military equipment with a specialized artillery function. Within the visual language of Benin court art, such figures were not necessarily intended merely as representations of foreign individuals. They could also function as symbols of royal authority, international connections, and access to valuable military and economic resources. Historical Benin relief plaques were produced by specialized metalworkers associated with the royal court and were used, among other purposes, in the architectural and ceremonial decoration of the royal palace in Benin City. Whether the present plaque originally fulfilled a comparable architectural function cannot be established from the available documentation.
Symbolism of the Manillas
The five manillas surrounding the central figure constitute an essential element of the composition. These horseshoe-shaped rings, generally produced from copper alloys, served as media of exchange and sources of valuable metal in various regions of West Africa. Imported copper and brass played an important role in commercial relations between European merchants and the Kingdom of Benin. Such imports were particularly significant because copper alloys provided essential raw materials for the production of royal castings. The association of the Portuguese artilleryman with five manillas therefore brings together two central aspects of historical relations between Benin and Europe: the exchange of military technology and the availability of valuable metallic resources. At the same time, the repeated forms of the manillas create a decorative framework emphasizing the central figure. The composition can consequently be understood both as a representation of a European military specialist and as a visual expression of the economic and political relationships between the Kingdom of Benin and Portugal.
Comparative Examples and Art-Historical Classification
A particularly close iconographic parallel is preserved in the Weltmuseum Wien under inventory number 64799. This relief plaque depicts a Portuguese figure with a linstock and five manillas and is documented on Digital Benin under catalogue reference 50_VO64799. Another important comparison is found in the GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig, inventory number MAf 34539. This work similarly depicts a frontal Portuguese figure holding a linstock and sword, surrounded by five manillas. The Leipzig plaque entered a collection before 1897 and therefore possesses a documented historical collection history. Gregor M. Metzig published the work in 2016 in his discussion of material exchanges between the Kingdom of Benin and Portugal. The similarities between these museum examples and plaque MAZ34586 extend to the central figure's posture, clothing, military attributes, and arrangement of the manillas. These correspondences establish the association of the composition with a historically documented iconographic type, although they do not independently establish the manufacturing date of the present casting. A possible direct relationship between casting models, or the reproduction of a historical prototype, would require precise comparative measurements, photographic superimposition, and technical examination of the casting.
Scientific Examination and Dating
The thermoluminescence report issued by the Ralf Kotalla Laboratory, no. 22R090826, dated 27 October 2026, assigns an age of approximately 380 years to the examined sample material, with a stated uncertainty of ±22.8 percent. The calculation presented on page 9 gives a result of 383 ± 87 years, corresponding to an estimated date around AD 1643. The resulting approximate chronological range of AD 1556–1730 is broadly compatible with the traditional art-historical dating of historical Benin relief plaques. Thermoluminescence analysis, however, relates specifically to the examined mineral components and the time of their last sufficient heating. Metallurgical examination can establish the elemental composition of the alloy but generally cannot provide a precise manufacturing date and can confirm authenticity as a historical casting only within certain limitations. Where original ceramic casting-core material is present, thermoluminescence analysis represents an important scientific method for estimating the time of its last sufficient heating. The extent to which such a result can be applied to the manufacturing date of the entire metal object depends upon establishing a demonstrable relationship between the sampled core material and the original casting process. The Kotalla report expressly limits its conclusions to the examined samples rather than the object as a whole. Accordingly, the reported date should be considered an important element of the scientific documentation, but not an independent and conclusive authentication of the entire plaque.
Condition Report
The plaque exhibits an aged appearance, with localized damage and irregular surface alterations. The central figure remains substantially intact, including the linstock, sword, and principal details of the costume. All five manillas remain recognizable in their original compositional positions. The front displays a heterogeneous surface characterized predominantly by dark grey to brownish-black coloration, with localized greenish and reddish-ochre areas. A clearly visible line resembling a crack extends downward from the upper edge immediately to the right of the figure's headdress. The outer edges exhibit irregularities, localized losses of material, and possible deformation. Losses and chipped areas are particularly apparent along the lower edge. The reverse reveals substantial cavities corresponding to the figure and surrounding decorative elements. The lateral views emphasize the considerable projection of the central figure and the irregular thickness of the supporting relief plate. Localized deposits, porosity, and varying degrees of surface abrasion are visible. Whether individual alterations result from natural aging processes, original casting characteristics, or subsequent interventions cannot be determined conclusively from the photographs. The existing metal mount and wooden base belong to the inventory of Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke and serve the present display arrangement. A conservation assessment of the visible cracks, the structural stability of the edges, and the contact points between the plaque and its mounting system would be advisable. The present condition report is based on photographic documentation and does not replace a direct examination by a qualified metal conservator.
Art-Historical Assessment
Relief plaque MAZ34586 is of considerable art-historical interest because of its complex iconography and close relationship to documented historical examples in museum collections. The combination of a Portuguese artilleryman carrying a linstock and sword, surrounded by five manillas, illustrates the historical importance of the Kingdom of Benin as a political and economic centre with far-reaching international connections. Particularly noteworthy is the detailed representation of the European military figure, whose distinctive clothing and equipment have been interpreted through the artistic conventions of Benin court metalworking. The visible surface characteristics, irregular construction of the reverse, and available thermoluminescence results provide relevant evidence for further technical and scientific investigation. They do not, however, permit a final determination of the manufacturing date or authenticity of the object as a whole. The secure art-historical conclusion concerns the association of the imagery with the tradition of Benin relief plaques of the 16th and 17th centuries. Any more definitive attribution should be supported by additional metallurgical, technical, and provenance research.
Literature and Comparative Objects
Gregor M. Metzig: “Corals, Brass and Firearms. Material Commodities in Cultural Interactions between Edo and Portuguese in Benin around 1500,” in Harriet Rudolph and Gregor M. Metzig (eds.), Material Culture in Modern Diplomacy from the 15th to the 20th Century, Berlin/Boston, 2016, pp. 29–54, particularly p. 47, fig. 6.
Kathryn Wysocki Gunsch: The Benin Plaques: A 16th Century Imperial Monument, London/New York, 2018.
Weltmuseum Wien: Relief plaque, “Portuguese with Linstock and Five Manillas,” inventory no. 64799; Digital Benin, catalogue reference 50_VO64799.
GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig: Relief plaque, “European (Portuguese) Surrounded by Five Manillas,” inventory no. MAf 34539.
Ralf Kotalla Laboratory: Thermoluminescence report no. 22R090826, Haigerloch, 27 October 2026, nine pages.
Copyright and Scientific Documentation
Some of the information and photographs have been generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and are based on published sources in ethnography, archaeology, and art history. Original texts and photographs may be protected by copyright. All rights held by the respective rights holders are reserved.
Catawiki does not issue Certificates of Authenticity for traditional or ancient African art objects. Our Terms and Traditional African Art Submission Guidelines require sellers to provide accurate and complete information regarding the authenticity, provenance and legal origin of their objects and, where applicable, supporting documentation. The guidelines do not require such documentation to take the form of an independently issued Certificate of Authenticity in every case.
Where a seller provides a self-issued certificate or declaration concerning authenticity, this represents the seller's own statement and should not be understood as independent third-party certification or certification by Catawiki. If the listing expressly states that a Certificate of Authenticity will be provided with the object, the seller is expected to provide that document as described.
Catawiki's experts perform a virtual review based on the information, photographs, provenance and supporting documentation provided during the submission process. Acceptance of a traditional or ancient African art object for auction does not constitute independent authentication or certification by Catawiki, nor does it mean that Catawiki's expert has physically or scientifically authenticated, patina-analyzed, or dated the object. Under our Terms and Traditional African Art Submission Guidelines, the seller remains responsible for the accuracy, legality, provenance and authenticity of the object and the information provided.
Seller's Story
Wolfgang Jaenicke’s engagement with African art did not begin in the field or the marketplace but in a quieter, more inward space—among papers, books, and objects that belonged to his father. The archive on Germany’s former colonies was not arranged to tell a single story; it suggested many. It invited scrutiny rather than reverence, and it taught Jaenicke early on that objects are never mute. They carry time inside them—fracture and continuity held in the same form—and they ask to be read as carefully as texts.
For more than a quarter century, Jaenicke has worked as a collector, dealer, and intermediary, though none of these terms quite captures the shape of his practice. What used to be grouped, too casually, under the heading of “Tribal Art” has never appeared to him as a sealed or historical category. It is, instead, a set of living traditions, constantly negotiating the present. His academic training—in ethnology, art history, and comparative law—provided a grammar. The language itself he learned elsewhere. In Mali, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Ghana, knowledge emerged slowly, through repeated encounters that hardened into relationships, and through trust built not all at once but over years.
Mali became the gravitational center of this experience. Between 2002 and 2012, Jaenicke lived and worked in Bamako and Ségou, where he ran Tribalartforum, a gallery overlooking the Niger River. The space resisted easy chronology. Sculptures and ceramics shared the room with photography, and works by Malick Sidibé—images of Malian youth in the 1970s, self-assured and exuberant—hung alongside older ritual forms. The effect was not nostalgic but clarifying: past and present did not cancel each other out; they sharpened one another.
The war of 2012 ended this chapter abruptly, as wars tend to do. But it did not dissolve the work. Together with Aguibou Kamaté, Jaenicke regrouped in Lomé, closer to the places where many of the objects originated and to the routes they continue to travel. Since 2018, Berlin has become another point on this map. Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke now operates opposite Charlottenburg Palace, supported by a small team of specialists. Its focus rests, in particular, on West African bronzes and terracottas—materials shaped by earth and fire, and by forms of memory that resist easy translation.
What distinguishes Jaenicke’s practice is not only its geographical range but its internal tension. Fieldwork is paired with provenance research; commerce is treated as inseparable from responsibility. In collaboration with museums and scholarly initiatives, circulation is framed not as extraction but as an ethical process that remains unfinished. The aim is not to remove objects from the world and seal them off, but to keep them readable within it—to allow them to continue speaking, even as the conditions of their speech change.
------------
Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke is a Berlin-based gallery specializing in West African sculpture, bronzes, terracottas, masks, and contemporary African art. It is directed by Wolfgang Jaenicke, whose work combines collecting, dealing, provenance research, fieldwork, and archival documentation.
According to the gallery’s own account, Jaenicke studied ethnology, art history, and comparative law and has worked in the field of African art for more than twenty-five years. His activities developed through long-term engagement in countries including Mali, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo. Rather than presenting African art as a closed historical category, he describes it as a continuing cultural tradition shaped by living communities and changing historical contexts.
A particularly important phase of his career was in Mali, where he lived and worked between roughly 2002 and 2012 in Bamako and Ségou. There he operated Tribalartforum, a gallery that combined historical African sculpture with contemporary African photography, including works by Malick Sidibé. The political and military crisis in Mali in 2012 led to the closure of this phase of activity.
Later, together with Aguibou Kamaté, Jaenicke continued working from Lomé, Togo, before establishing a gallery presence in Berlin near Charlottenburg Palace. The gallery places particular emphasis on West African bronzes, terracottas, Benin and Ife-related works, Nok sculpture, Dogon art, Baule sculpture, Senufo objects, and Yoruba material.
One distinctive aspect of Jaenicke’s public position is his repeated emphasis on provenance transparency and restitution debates. On several published object records, the gallery explicitly discusses issues surrounding export documentation, UNESCO conventions, ownership histories, and communication with scholars and restitution researchers. These statements reflect broader contemporary debates about the circulation of African cultural heritage, legality, collecting history, and museum acquisition practices.
The gallery maintains extensive online archives and catalogues documenting hundreds of African objects, including Benin and Ife bronzes, Nok terracottas, Dogon sculptures, Baule figures, Fon objects, Moba figures, and other West African material.
For researchers interested in the history of the African art trade, Jaenicke represents a later generation of dealers compared with figures such as John J. Klejman. Whereas Klejman belonged to the postwar New York market of the 1950s–1970s, Jaenicke’s work has been shaped by contemporary concerns with field documentation, provenance research, restitution discussions, digital archives, and direct engagement with West African networks and artists.
This text is based on AI Information
Relief Plaque Depicting a Portuguese Artilleryman with Five Manillas
Origin: Kingdom of Benin, present-day Nigeria, Edo culture
Date: In the tradition of Benin court art of the 16th–17th century; the date of manufacture of the present plaque has not been conclusively established
Material: Copper alloy, traditionally described as bronze
Technique: Relief casting, presumably using the lost-wax process
Dimensions: Approx. 51.5 × 36.5 cm, height × width, according to the laboratory report; orientation of the measurements subject to verification
Inventory number: MAZ34586
Collection: Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke
Exhibition: Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke, 2022
Provenance: Nigeria.
Since at least 2018 (the Translocation project at the Technical University of Berlin), the Commission of Museums and Monuments, Abuja (NCMM), has been aware of our trade in Benin bronzes. No restitution claims have been made since then.
Scientific examination: Ralf Kotalla Laboratory, thermoluminescence report no. 22R090826, dated 27 October 2026
Mount: Metal support with wooden base, belonging to the inventory of Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke
Description
The rectangular relief plaque depicts a bearded European military figure standing frontally, identifiable through his distinctive clothing, weapons, and iconographic attributes as a Portuguese soldier, more specifically an artilleryman. His head is covered by a rounded, helmet-like headdress with a pronounced horizontal band across the forehead. Finely incised sections of hair fall down either side of his face towards the shoulders. His facial features are carefully articulated, with large almond-shaped eyes, a prominent nose, a sculpturally defined mouth, and a long beard decorated with vertical striations. The figure wears a close-fitting, buttoned jacket, a short, deeply pleated skirt, patterned breeches, and high boots. In his right hand, he holds a long, vertically positioned linstock, a staff used in the operation of early firearms and artillery. Its characteristic forked, three-part terminal probably served to hold a length of burning match cord, allowing the gunner to ignite the priming charge of a cannon while maintaining a certain distance from the weapon. His left hand grasps the hilt of a sword extending diagonally downward, reinforcing his military identity. The figure is surrounded by five horseshoe-shaped metal rings with thickened terminals, identifiable as manillas. Two appear in the upper section of the composition, one beside the figure on the right, and two in the lower section. The background is embellished with finely engraved geometric and floral motifs. The pronounced differences in relief depth between the central figure, the manillas, and the ornamented background create a carefully structured composition and emphasize the prominence of the central figure. The plaque is displayed on a metal support with a rectangular wooden base. This base belongs to the inventory of Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke and does not constitute an original component of the historical artwork.
Art-Historical Context
The representation belongs to an important iconographic category within the courtly metalworking tradition of the Kingdom of Benin, in which Europeans, particularly Portuguese merchants, soldiers, and diplomatic representatives, appear as prominent subjects. From the late 15th century onwards, diplomatic and commercial relations developed between the Kingdom of Benin and Portugal, involving exchanges of copper alloys, textiles, luxury goods, and military technology. The depiction of a Portuguese artilleryman reflects this early period of contact between West Africa and Europe. Particularly significant is the upright linstock, whose forked terminal suggests the use of a burning match in the operation of early artillery. This attribute permits a more specific identification than the general designation of an armed Portuguese figure. The individual may represent a Portuguese gunner, known as a bombardeiro. The combination of sword and linstock associates personal military equipment with a specialized artillery function. Within the visual language of Benin court art, such figures were not necessarily intended merely as representations of foreign individuals. They could also function as symbols of royal authority, international connections, and access to valuable military and economic resources. Historical Benin relief plaques were produced by specialized metalworkers associated with the royal court and were used, among other purposes, in the architectural and ceremonial decoration of the royal palace in Benin City. Whether the present plaque originally fulfilled a comparable architectural function cannot be established from the available documentation.
Symbolism of the Manillas
The five manillas surrounding the central figure constitute an essential element of the composition. These horseshoe-shaped rings, generally produced from copper alloys, served as media of exchange and sources of valuable metal in various regions of West Africa. Imported copper and brass played an important role in commercial relations between European merchants and the Kingdom of Benin. Such imports were particularly significant because copper alloys provided essential raw materials for the production of royal castings. The association of the Portuguese artilleryman with five manillas therefore brings together two central aspects of historical relations between Benin and Europe: the exchange of military technology and the availability of valuable metallic resources. At the same time, the repeated forms of the manillas create a decorative framework emphasizing the central figure. The composition can consequently be understood both as a representation of a European military specialist and as a visual expression of the economic and political relationships between the Kingdom of Benin and Portugal.
Comparative Examples and Art-Historical Classification
A particularly close iconographic parallel is preserved in the Weltmuseum Wien under inventory number 64799. This relief plaque depicts a Portuguese figure with a linstock and five manillas and is documented on Digital Benin under catalogue reference 50_VO64799. Another important comparison is found in the GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig, inventory number MAf 34539. This work similarly depicts a frontal Portuguese figure holding a linstock and sword, surrounded by five manillas. The Leipzig plaque entered a collection before 1897 and therefore possesses a documented historical collection history. Gregor M. Metzig published the work in 2016 in his discussion of material exchanges between the Kingdom of Benin and Portugal. The similarities between these museum examples and plaque MAZ34586 extend to the central figure's posture, clothing, military attributes, and arrangement of the manillas. These correspondences establish the association of the composition with a historically documented iconographic type, although they do not independently establish the manufacturing date of the present casting. A possible direct relationship between casting models, or the reproduction of a historical prototype, would require precise comparative measurements, photographic superimposition, and technical examination of the casting.
Scientific Examination and Dating
The thermoluminescence report issued by the Ralf Kotalla Laboratory, no. 22R090826, dated 27 October 2026, assigns an age of approximately 380 years to the examined sample material, with a stated uncertainty of ±22.8 percent. The calculation presented on page 9 gives a result of 383 ± 87 years, corresponding to an estimated date around AD 1643. The resulting approximate chronological range of AD 1556–1730 is broadly compatible with the traditional art-historical dating of historical Benin relief plaques. Thermoluminescence analysis, however, relates specifically to the examined mineral components and the time of their last sufficient heating. Metallurgical examination can establish the elemental composition of the alloy but generally cannot provide a precise manufacturing date and can confirm authenticity as a historical casting only within certain limitations. Where original ceramic casting-core material is present, thermoluminescence analysis represents an important scientific method for estimating the time of its last sufficient heating. The extent to which such a result can be applied to the manufacturing date of the entire metal object depends upon establishing a demonstrable relationship between the sampled core material and the original casting process. The Kotalla report expressly limits its conclusions to the examined samples rather than the object as a whole. Accordingly, the reported date should be considered an important element of the scientific documentation, but not an independent and conclusive authentication of the entire plaque.
Condition Report
The plaque exhibits an aged appearance, with localized damage and irregular surface alterations. The central figure remains substantially intact, including the linstock, sword, and principal details of the costume. All five manillas remain recognizable in their original compositional positions. The front displays a heterogeneous surface characterized predominantly by dark grey to brownish-black coloration, with localized greenish and reddish-ochre areas. A clearly visible line resembling a crack extends downward from the upper edge immediately to the right of the figure's headdress. The outer edges exhibit irregularities, localized losses of material, and possible deformation. Losses and chipped areas are particularly apparent along the lower edge. The reverse reveals substantial cavities corresponding to the figure and surrounding decorative elements. The lateral views emphasize the considerable projection of the central figure and the irregular thickness of the supporting relief plate. Localized deposits, porosity, and varying degrees of surface abrasion are visible. Whether individual alterations result from natural aging processes, original casting characteristics, or subsequent interventions cannot be determined conclusively from the photographs. The existing metal mount and wooden base belong to the inventory of Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke and serve the present display arrangement. A conservation assessment of the visible cracks, the structural stability of the edges, and the contact points between the plaque and its mounting system would be advisable. The present condition report is based on photographic documentation and does not replace a direct examination by a qualified metal conservator.
Art-Historical Assessment
Relief plaque MAZ34586 is of considerable art-historical interest because of its complex iconography and close relationship to documented historical examples in museum collections. The combination of a Portuguese artilleryman carrying a linstock and sword, surrounded by five manillas, illustrates the historical importance of the Kingdom of Benin as a political and economic centre with far-reaching international connections. Particularly noteworthy is the detailed representation of the European military figure, whose distinctive clothing and equipment have been interpreted through the artistic conventions of Benin court metalworking. The visible surface characteristics, irregular construction of the reverse, and available thermoluminescence results provide relevant evidence for further technical and scientific investigation. They do not, however, permit a final determination of the manufacturing date or authenticity of the object as a whole. The secure art-historical conclusion concerns the association of the imagery with the tradition of Benin relief plaques of the 16th and 17th centuries. Any more definitive attribution should be supported by additional metallurgical, technical, and provenance research.
Literature and Comparative Objects
Gregor M. Metzig: “Corals, Brass and Firearms. Material Commodities in Cultural Interactions between Edo and Portuguese in Benin around 1500,” in Harriet Rudolph and Gregor M. Metzig (eds.), Material Culture in Modern Diplomacy from the 15th to the 20th Century, Berlin/Boston, 2016, pp. 29–54, particularly p. 47, fig. 6.
Kathryn Wysocki Gunsch: The Benin Plaques: A 16th Century Imperial Monument, London/New York, 2018.
Weltmuseum Wien: Relief plaque, “Portuguese with Linstock and Five Manillas,” inventory no. 64799; Digital Benin, catalogue reference 50_VO64799.
GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig: Relief plaque, “European (Portuguese) Surrounded by Five Manillas,” inventory no. MAf 34539.
Ralf Kotalla Laboratory: Thermoluminescence report no. 22R090826, Haigerloch, 27 October 2026, nine pages.
Copyright and Scientific Documentation
Some of the information and photographs have been generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and are based on published sources in ethnography, archaeology, and art history. Original texts and photographs may be protected by copyright. All rights held by the respective rights holders are reserved.
Catawiki does not issue Certificates of Authenticity for traditional or ancient African art objects. Our Terms and Traditional African Art Submission Guidelines require sellers to provide accurate and complete information regarding the authenticity, provenance and legal origin of their objects and, where applicable, supporting documentation. The guidelines do not require such documentation to take the form of an independently issued Certificate of Authenticity in every case.
Where a seller provides a self-issued certificate or declaration concerning authenticity, this represents the seller's own statement and should not be understood as independent third-party certification or certification by Catawiki. If the listing expressly states that a Certificate of Authenticity will be provided with the object, the seller is expected to provide that document as described.
Catawiki's experts perform a virtual review based on the information, photographs, provenance and supporting documentation provided during the submission process. Acceptance of a traditional or ancient African art object for auction does not constitute independent authentication or certification by Catawiki, nor does it mean that Catawiki's expert has physically or scientifically authenticated, patina-analyzed, or dated the object. Under our Terms and Traditional African Art Submission Guidelines, the seller remains responsible for the accuracy, legality, provenance and authenticity of the object and the information provided.
Seller's Story
Wolfgang Jaenicke’s engagement with African art did not begin in the field or the marketplace but in a quieter, more inward space—among papers, books, and objects that belonged to his father. The archive on Germany’s former colonies was not arranged to tell a single story; it suggested many. It invited scrutiny rather than reverence, and it taught Jaenicke early on that objects are never mute. They carry time inside them—fracture and continuity held in the same form—and they ask to be read as carefully as texts.
For more than a quarter century, Jaenicke has worked as a collector, dealer, and intermediary, though none of these terms quite captures the shape of his practice. What used to be grouped, too casually, under the heading of “Tribal Art” has never appeared to him as a sealed or historical category. It is, instead, a set of living traditions, constantly negotiating the present. His academic training—in ethnology, art history, and comparative law—provided a grammar. The language itself he learned elsewhere. In Mali, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Ghana, knowledge emerged slowly, through repeated encounters that hardened into relationships, and through trust built not all at once but over years.
Mali became the gravitational center of this experience. Between 2002 and 2012, Jaenicke lived and worked in Bamako and Ségou, where he ran Tribalartforum, a gallery overlooking the Niger River. The space resisted easy chronology. Sculptures and ceramics shared the room with photography, and works by Malick Sidibé—images of Malian youth in the 1970s, self-assured and exuberant—hung alongside older ritual forms. The effect was not nostalgic but clarifying: past and present did not cancel each other out; they sharpened one another.
The war of 2012 ended this chapter abruptly, as wars tend to do. But it did not dissolve the work. Together with Aguibou Kamaté, Jaenicke regrouped in Lomé, closer to the places where many of the objects originated and to the routes they continue to travel. Since 2018, Berlin has become another point on this map. Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke now operates opposite Charlottenburg Palace, supported by a small team of specialists. Its focus rests, in particular, on West African bronzes and terracottas—materials shaped by earth and fire, and by forms of memory that resist easy translation.
What distinguishes Jaenicke’s practice is not only its geographical range but its internal tension. Fieldwork is paired with provenance research; commerce is treated as inseparable from responsibility. In collaboration with museums and scholarly initiatives, circulation is framed not as extraction but as an ethical process that remains unfinished. The aim is not to remove objects from the world and seal them off, but to keep them readable within it—to allow them to continue speaking, even as the conditions of their speech change.
------------
Galerie Wolfgang Jaenicke is a Berlin-based gallery specializing in West African sculpture, bronzes, terracottas, masks, and contemporary African art. It is directed by Wolfgang Jaenicke, whose work combines collecting, dealing, provenance research, fieldwork, and archival documentation.
According to the gallery’s own account, Jaenicke studied ethnology, art history, and comparative law and has worked in the field of African art for more than twenty-five years. His activities developed through long-term engagement in countries including Mali, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo. Rather than presenting African art as a closed historical category, he describes it as a continuing cultural tradition shaped by living communities and changing historical contexts.
A particularly important phase of his career was in Mali, where he lived and worked between roughly 2002 and 2012 in Bamako and Ségou. There he operated Tribalartforum, a gallery that combined historical African sculpture with contemporary African photography, including works by Malick Sidibé. The political and military crisis in Mali in 2012 led to the closure of this phase of activity.
Later, together with Aguibou Kamaté, Jaenicke continued working from Lomé, Togo, before establishing a gallery presence in Berlin near Charlottenburg Palace. The gallery places particular emphasis on West African bronzes, terracottas, Benin and Ife-related works, Nok sculpture, Dogon art, Baule sculpture, Senufo objects, and Yoruba material.
One distinctive aspect of Jaenicke’s public position is his repeated emphasis on provenance transparency and restitution debates. On several published object records, the gallery explicitly discusses issues surrounding export documentation, UNESCO conventions, ownership histories, and communication with scholars and restitution researchers. These statements reflect broader contemporary debates about the circulation of African cultural heritage, legality, collecting history, and museum acquisition practices.
The gallery maintains extensive online archives and catalogues documenting hundreds of African objects, including Benin and Ife bronzes, Nok terracottas, Dogon sculptures, Baule figures, Fon objects, Moba figures, and other West African material.
For researchers interested in the history of the African art trade, Jaenicke represents a later generation of dealers compared with figures such as John J. Klejman. Whereas Klejman belonged to the postwar New York market of the 1950s–1970s, Jaenicke’s work has been shaped by contemporary concerns with field documentation, provenance research, restitution discussions, digital archives, and direct engagement with West African networks and artists.
This text is based on AI Information
Details
Indigenous object name
Plaque
Ethnic group/ culture
Benin
Country of Origin
Nigeria
Material
Bronze
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Fair condition
Title of artwork
A bronze sculpture
Height
51.5 cm
Width
36.5 cm
Weight
8.1 kg
Authenticity
Original/official
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
AGB
AGB des Verkäufers. Mit einem Gebot auf dieses Los akzeptieren Sie ebenfalls die AGB des Verkäufers.
Widerrufsbelehrung
- Frist: 14 Tage sowie gemäß den hier angegebenen Bedingungen
- Rücksendkosten: Käufer trägt die unmittelbaren Kosten der Rücksendung der Ware
- Vollständige Widerrufsbelehrung
