Antique Benin Bronze Hip Mask with Striking Bearded Face and Fish Natural Patina Visible

AN ANTIQUE BRONZE HIP MASK FROM BENIN WITH INTRICATE DETAILS. FEATURING A STRIKING BEARDED FACE WITH INTRICATE DETAILS, THIS MASK SHOWCASES THE RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ARTISTIC SKILLS OF AFRICAN ARTISANS. ON BOTH SIDES ON TOP OF HIS HEAD ARE THE SCALED BODIES AND TAIL FINS OF TWO FISH. IN BENIN FISH REPRESENTS PROSPERITY AND WELL-BEING. THE HANGING HOOPS HAVE A DISTINCT BIRD-LIKE BEAK.
 
PENDANT OR HIP MASKS LIKE THIS ONE ARE DESIGNED TO BE WORN BY COURT OFFICIALS ON THE LEFT HIP AT PALACE CEREMONIES.
 
THE MASK'S BOLD DESIGN AND EXPRESSIVE FEATURES MAKE IT A PERFECT ADDITION TO ANY COLLECTION OF ETHNIC ART.

DIMENSIONS: 18 CM HIGH, 15 CM WIDE WEIGHT 460G

MATERIAL: BRONZE

ORIGIN: BENIN, NIGERIA

CONDITION: ANTIQUE, WITH NATURAL PATINA AND SIGNS OF AGE THAT ENHANCE ITS CHARACTER. STRUCTURALLY IN GOOD CONDITION.
 
BENIN HIP MASKS:
Face pendants or hip masks like these was created for the court of the Kingdom of Benin, a highly centralized state founded in the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries in southwestern Nigeria , ruled by a divine king, or Oba, with a complex pyramidal bureaucracy of Palace Chiefs, Town Chiefs, minor palace officials, chiefly retainers, and members of the guilds that included craftsmen who produced sculpture in wood, ivory, and brass, embroidered cloths, and other court regalia.
Although the members of the brass casters' guild continue to cast royal and chiefly regalia today, most of the objects from Benin are in collections outside of Nigeria,
THESE "MASK" WAS WORN BY CHIEFS OF ALL RANKS AS A PENDANT ATTACHED TO THE BUNCHED CLOTH OF THE WRAPPER ON THE LEFT HIP AS PART OF CEREMONIAL ATTIRE.

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