Artwork Page for Ancestral Altar Tusk

Details / Information for Ancestral Altar Tusk

Ancestral Altar Tusk

c. 1820

Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igbesanmwan (wood and ivory carvers) guild

Medium
Elephant ivory
Measurements
Overall: 197.4 cm (77 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Katherine C. White 1968.284
Public Domain
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Location
108A African
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Did You Know?

Originally, this carved tusk was placed on an ancestral altar as part of an ensemble of objects made to memorialize a deceased Ọba (ruler).

Description

Ọba Ọsẹmwẹdẹ commissioned the carving of this tusk to connect with his ancestors and symbolize his strength. It is covered with royal figures wearing elaborate regalia and scenes of power, ritual, and violence. While Benin royal symbols may look similar across centuries, their meanings can shift. Ọsẹmwẹdẹ’s reign was prosperous due to trade with the Dutch; however, 16th-century Portuguese men are carved on the lower tusk. By the 1800s they represented any European traders. This tusk’s surface likely became worn and cracked from frequent washing, bleaching, and the applying of a white clay (orhue) linked to peace, purity, and prosperity.
Carved ivory elephant tusk decorated with human and animal figures. Each human figure appears on top of the other and they are almost always separated by a smaller carving of an animal, such as a snake, fish, or jaguar. The figures have squared bodies and faces and wear patterned tunics or wraps. A repeated rectangle pattern, like a brick wall, appears on their clothes and in rings around all but the lowest figure's necks.

Ancestral Altar Tusk

c. 1820

Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igbesanmwan (wood and ivory carvers) guild

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