Item.
Big, detailed and prominent Benin Bronze cast of a Snake  head. Authentic and rare. Nigeria.  It is an example of the wider body of work referred to as the Benin bronzes.

The Benin Bronzes are a group of more than a thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now the Midwest area of Nigeria.

Collectively, the Benin bronze objects form the best-known examples of Benin art and were created from the thirteenth century onwards by artists of the Edo people of Nigeria.


Origin.
Edo People of Nigeria.


Use.
Snakes, like Leopard and some other animals, were mythical  creatures in ancient Benin Empires. 

It was traditional for a pair of these Snake head to have framed a door or gateway of the Oba (King) of Benin's palace and Court or the abode of his royal affiliates. These Snake heads were believed to serve as protective entities over the premises associated with the Oba of Benin.

Description.
A fine creation with striking features. An example of the famous Bronze cast head of a snake. It is  covered all over with scale pattern complemented with decoration in relief motifs.

These particular creations were believed to decorate the gate towers of the Oba of Benin palace.

Darkened and dullened patination derived from oxidation and age.

Detailed representation of scales, motif patterns and features like eyes and teeth.

Some degradation and thinning of the bronze metal, especially to the neck area I have tried to showith pictures,  as to be expected from this item which is genuinely old.

Nonetheless the head is in excellent collector condition. A beautiful, considerable and significant tribal treasure.

Please note you are buying  a rare tribal treasures obtained from it's original home of creation and use.

As with all my bronze offerings,  this is a field-collected find from Edo State of Nigeria which is the modern location of the Ancient Benin Empire that produced the many examples of beautiful Benin bronze collected worldwide today.

Measurement.
34cm length x 24cm wide x 18cm high.

Weight.
5kg approx.

Postage information.
Please note we are an international seller who mainly obtain tribal artifacts directly in their area of creation and use as we rate authenticity higher than anything else per tribal art.

We sometime therefore send items, especially big items, directly from where they were field-collected as this saves duplication of cost and effort for us.

Item will be sent using a UPS courier internatiomal tracked service.
Please allow at least two weeks for delivery after payment is made. Thank you..