Benin 10 5 11 guilds are workshops artisan community live close to royals high status artisans ancestral alter alter semi circle made of clay cast brass heads all along the alter alters dedicated to past obas of Benin brass cast heads responsibility of new king to build alter to commemorate his father brass heads carved ivory tusks are inserted into heads contain historical narrative rattles and bells alert ancestral spirits charged spiritual space Male head Brass with iron inlay not portrait of king parallel iron bars on eyebrow three for men and four for women or foreigners symbolic of kings power of war thought to be a captured person has four earliest style type early form relies on more naturalist form overtime the beaded collar just comes around the neck thin walled smaller Commemorative head of an Oba brass beaded regalia and crown no marks on the eyes crown covers the brows shift in objects appearance later works beaded regalia comes all the way up to the lip move from an idealized naturalism to a much more abstract form Commemorative head of an Oba brass last head style much heavier larger collar with round bases often with symbolic animals coral bead regalia horn forms on either side of the crown three marks above brow indicating male abstraction less focus on portraiture more on power and majesty of the king queen mothers had very high status heads show similar shifts in style Iyoba queen mother symbolic and historical place in hierarchy supernatural powers re ned political skill went to war with son Idia women with a lot of power queen mother could offer protection did negotiation for the king between palace and town chiefs never had contact with Oba her son once he takes power communicate only through messenger commemorative head of queen mother chicken beak hairstyle four marks on brow indicate gender heavier new style commemorative head of queen mother had some coral bead regalia beads came form mediterranean considered a luxury traded for salt ivory slaves arrow like form of the nose no space to put tusk in these heads unlike Oba two kinds of objects 1 alter of the hand Ikegobo more of an individual other alter represents more of a legacy alter to be placed on an alter exceptional individuals hand is associated with productivity and action hand is the source of wealth status and success you could commission these in wood terracotta brass if you were a man semicircular carved or cast in high relief 3 elements top scene middle scene bottom images top has oba in center of two people two attendants on either side and leopards in middle another image of Oba as a warrior king holds stone axe and staff bottom two sts with hand facing outwards and leopard and ram kingly power king is powerful leader Plaque of an Oba and two Europeans Brass portuguese wanted to convert africans western weapons and coral traded Oba at center he is seated on throne biggest gure on plaque holds axe in hand can give punishment quatrefoil on background small gures of Portuguese in background different depicted with long hair and helmet white people associated with ocean Plaque with Portuguese solider long hair helmet long beard staff in one hand sword in the other euro clothing skirt with stocking on legs cross hatching pattern narrating history on the walls of the palace holes on plaques brass only for king Portuguese commissioned carved ivory mainly not brass images produced are different like the Portuguese asked for it to be a certain way cross depicted do not incorporate traditional Benin imagery simply for a market Hip pendent of Queen Mother Idia ivory commissioned by Oba has standard images of brass heads iron inlays on unibrow four marks above the brow idealized representation natural top of her crown are little images of portuguese men status object incorporated port men prestige item worn by king image of the queen mother context very well known representation of head is central special role in the head directs body and success in life 1 mat itself gives the suggestion of permanence and protection 2 not portraits of particular kings unlike Ife generalize portrayals that emphasize kingship 3 shiny surface was thought to distance evil forces 4 eye is enduring stare of the king emphasized by iron eye obas were considered divine kings