This antique terracotta Benin head is based upon bronze examples that are noted for their details of representation.  The vast majority of Benin’s artworks are designed to honor the achievements and/or memory of the Obas, the divine rulers of the Benin polities. This piece is a magnificently formed and executed. The hair is in a beaded crown that is cut to the temples across the forehead, then dips once to the level of the ears. It is comprised of five bands of overlapping beadwork in the rear, and three bands at the front. The top of the head is missing, this is where a tusk would go. Sourced in Parma, Italy.

Dimensions: 9.5”H x 7.5”W x 7”D

The Making of a Royal Alter Head: The lost-wax casting process is a technique used by Benin sculptors to form the shape of the effigy head in a heat-resistant clay-core. This core is then covered with a layer of wax, in which the sculptor models, carves, and incises an image. Secondly, a thin layer of finely ground liquid clay is painted over the wax model then covered with increasingly thicker layers of clay. When the clay is completely dry, the assembly is heated to melt out the wax leaving an empty image or mold of the sculpted image of the head; for the hot molten metal to be filled in where the wax was and hot metal is poured into the mold. The sculptor must turn the complete assembly upside down to pour the hot molten metal, which is generally a mixture of copper alloys or brass. When the molten metal has cooled, the outer clay casing and inner clay core are broken to remove the casted sculpture or head.