Nigeria, Edo Peoples, Benin Style Bronze Male Court Official H 10", W 5" | Figure Wears a Brass Hat, a Wrap Skirt, And a Cross Pendant, Distinctive to Figures Labelled As 'Court Officials', Though the Exact Identity of This Figure Is Unknown. the Official May Be a Messenger from a Ruler Referred to As the "Ogane," Who Today Is Identified As the Leader, or "Oni," of Ife. According to a Sixteenth-Century Portuguese Text, Each New "Oba," or King, of Benin Had to Be Confirmed by the "Ogane," Whose Messenger Presented the "Oba" with a Brass Hat, Staff, And Cross Necklace. Provenance: Property from a Bloomfield Township, MI private collection.

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