Art of the Kingdom of Benin

Benin art is the art from the Kingdom of Benin[1] or Edo Empire (1440–1897), a pre-colonial African state located in what is now known as the Southern region of Nigeria.[2] Primarily made of cast bronze and carved ivory, Benin art was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of Benin – a divine ruler for whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects.[3] The full complexity of these works can be appreciated through the awareness and consideration of two complementary cultural perceptions of the art of Benin: the Western appreciation of them primarily as works of art, and their understanding in Benin as historical documents and as mnemonic devices to reconstruct history, or as ritual objects. This original significance is of great importance in Benin.[4]