一件青铜雕塑 - Fon - 贝宁 (没有保留价)

Fon Anthropomorphic Figure
Benin, Cotonou region, incl stand
Bronze / copper alloy, lost-wax casting
Date unknown
Collected in the Cotonou region, Benin
Informant: Amadou Dogo

The small, fully cast figure depicts a male person in a seated or markedly reclining position. The elongated body rests with the buttocks on a raised seat, while the extended legs project diagonally forward. The arms are bent and positioned in front of or alongside the upper body. This posture creates a distinctive, almost tensely reclining silhouette.
The head is surmounted by a tall, nearly cylindrical form or headdress. The facial features are highly abstracted. The eyes, nose, and mouth are modelled in relief, while a long neck clearly separates the head from the torso. Linear and relief-like markings are visible across the body and legs; these may represent clothing, jewellery, scarification, or other bodily or social markers.

The surface displays an irregular brownish-green patina, together with traces of corrosion and wear. There are open or damaged areas on the torso, some of which may also result from irregularities in the casting process.
Formally, the figure is defined less by naturalistic anatomy than by posture, gesture, and possibly markers of social identity. The headdress, seated posture, and bodily markings in particular may originally have conveyed information about the status, identity, or function of the person represented. In the absence of a documented local designation, however, a more precise identification—as a ruler, dignitary, priest, ancestor, or specific Vodun figure—should be avoided.

Anthropomorphic metal figures associated with the Fon may be considered within the broader contexts of Vodun practice, ancestor veneration, and courtly representation. Figural objects could form part of complex relationships between the living, the deceased, and spiritual forces. Their significance derived not only from their iconography but also from their original location, material composition, and ritual use.

An important comparative context is provided by asen, the metal memorial and ancestral altars of the Fon. Used in both familial and courtly settings, they functioned as material interfaces between the living and the dead. Through offerings and libations, relationships with the deceased could be maintained and renewed. In the Kingdom of Dahomey, such metalwork was also closely connected with memory, genealogy, and political authority.
Figural representations could form part of such larger metal ensembles. The present bronze, however, does not correspond to the complete form of an asen, which typically consists of a metal shaft supporting a platform with various figural or symbolic elements. Whether this figure was originally part of a larger ensemble or was used as an independent ritual object cannot be determined from the photograph alone.

A further point of comparison is the category of bocio, extensively studied by Suzanne Preston Blier. These anthropomorphic objects could serve purposes of protection, defence, healing, or the control of spiritual forces. Their efficacy was often generated through ritual activation and the addition of substances and materials. The present bronze, however, should not be classified as a bocio without corresponding provenance information or a documented local designation.

Selected bibliography:
Suzanne Preston Blier, African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power, Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Melville J. Herskovits, Dahomey: An Ancient West African Kingdom, 2 vols., New York: J. J. Augustin, 1938.

Some of the information is generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history.

Inv. No. MAZ25614