Oba commemorative head - Lot 19

Oba commemorative head Edo Kingdom Nigeria, 19th century Wood veneered with metal leaf H. 62 cm Provenance: - Purchased by Augustus H. Lane Fox Pitt Rivers on January 12, 1899 and kept by the family, Farnham, Dorset - Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, exhibited from 1934 to - John Hewett, London - The collection of William Stark, Denver - The collection of Thomas Alexander III, Saint-Louis - Merton D. Simpson, New York - The collection of Allan Stone, New York - Private collection, Paris Featured on altars commemorating the Oba and his ancestry, these portrait heads were honored as true royalty. Carved wooden figures, heirs to their distant bronze ancestors, are among the last historical and artistic testimonies of the Edo kingdom. They may have been intended to support a richly carved elephant tusk. Works of art from Africa with such an ancient pedigree are exceptional in public or private collections.