一件青铜雕塑 - 奥贡人 - 尼日利亞

A Ogboni altar bronze bell, from the Edo State region, Nigeria, incl stand.

This anthropomorphic bell made of an Ogoni copper alloy from the Niger Delta takes the form of a highly stylized human head; its hollow body, which flares toward the base, retains the functional logic of a musical instrument while transforming it into a figurative representation: the face, broad and almost ovoid, features large, deeply set almond-shaped eyes, a long, straight nose, a mouth with thick, slightly upturned lips, and ears modeled in relief, while several parallel lines running from the corners of the mouth toward the cheeks form a graphic pattern that could evoke body markings, scarifications, or an aesthetic codification of the face. The forehead is framed by crenellated relief bands evoking a headdress or ornament, above which a remarkable zoomorphic element unfolds: a bird with a finely incised body and wings, positioned vertically along the axis of the forehead, whose curved head descends toward the face; this combination of a human figure and an avian motif introduces an emblematic dimension that may allude to notions of rank, mediation, or power, though no precise meaning can be asserted independently of the context of its discovery and use. At the top, a wide ring-shaped loop, reinforced with small nodules and connected to the cap by an openwork structure, indicates that the object was designed to be suspended, worn, or handled, while the slightly flared lower rim is adorned with geometric motifs in relief—notably X-shaped crossings and groups of vertical bars—which visually structure the transition between the head and the opening of the bell. The surface, now covered with a complex patina blending browns, greens, and reddish patches of oxidation, reveals both the object’s material age and the irregularities characteristic of lost-wax casting, a process historically widespread in several metallurgical traditions of southern Nigeria. From an anthropological perspective, the object thus lies at the intersection of sculpture, ornamentation, and musical instrument: the monumentalization of the head, the emphasis on bodily features and motifs of prestige, as well as the presence of the bird and the suspension ring suggest not merely a simple utensil but an artifact intended to simultaneously produce sound, visibility, and authority within a social or ritual context, its form making the human body itself the symbolic medium for the sound-producing action.

According to Elsy Leuzinger, the cult objects of the Ogboni society occupy a special position. So far as one can find out about the secrets of the society, they are related to the cult of the earth spirit Onile. It is possible that the relief figure with the catfish-legs on the agba drums represents this Onile. When the agba drum sounds to call the members of the society, everyone is seized with terror, because the call always means that a death sentence is to be executed, usually as a punishment for the betrayal of the secrets of the society. The blood of the sacrificed used to be poured over the drum.

In the Ogboni sanctuary there is also a larger brass figure with protruding eyes and a horn-like hair-style. Its hands form the Ogboni greeting. Morton Williams investigated its secrets and learned that it was Ajagbo, a terrible Alafin of Oyo, who became a revenging spirit and is invoked by the Ogboni society when a divine sentence of death has to be passed. Ajagbo is identified with Onile, the earth spirit.

"The style of works in metal and ivory is very different from the style of carving in the Yoruba country. This phenomenon is no doubt to be explained by its completely different function." (The Art of Black Africa, translated by R.A. Wilson, the New York Graphic Society, New York, 1972, pp 174-176.)

Im National Museum in Lagos befindet sich eine ähnliche weibliche Figur (Höhe 106 cm), die aus Iperu stammt, von einer weiteren wird berichtet, daß sie in einem Ogboni-Shrine in Ibadan noch in Gebrauch sei. Morton Williams identifizierte jene Figur als Darstellung Ajagbos, eines schrecklichen Alafin von Oyo, der als Rachegeist zu göttlichen Ehren gelangte und dessen Statue bei der Entlarvung und Bestrafung derjenigen eine Rolle spielt, die Ogboni Geheimnisse verraten haben. (Source: Frank Willet, Ife, Metropole afrikanischer Kunst, zweite Auflage 1975, Tafel 101).

Lit.: Leuzinger, Elsy, Kunst uit Afrika: Rond de Niger - De Machtige Rivier, The Hague: Haags Gemeentemuseum, 1971, no. L11. Leuzinger, Elsy, Kunsthaus Zürich: Die Kunst von Schwarz-Afrika, Zurich: Kunsthaus, 1970, pp. 178, no. L11. "Ogboni shrine figures, Bon hams", a similar, single female Bronze sculpture is available on Barakat Gallery, "Large Yoruba Bronze Statue of a Woman", with an estimated age 1800 AD to 1920 AD.

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. MAZ21527

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