H x W x D: 22.2 x 15.1 x 14.2 cm (8 3/4 x 5 15/16 x 5 9/16 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Nigeria
Date:
ca. 1668-1773 TL dating
Label Text:
This unique vessel arrived in England shortly after a punitive expedition by the British against the Benin Kingdom in 1897. The lack of surface decoration, the shape of the vessel and the style of the chameleons are not typical of Benin art. Although a number of unique objects emanated from the Benin court, this vessel may have been cast elsewhere or by a non-Benin artist. The technical expertise required for such a complex lost-wax casting would seem to demand the skills found in a major metalworking center. Until a more exact identification can be made, this vessel is labeled "Lower Niger Bronze Industry," a term suggested by William Fagg of the British Museum in 1963 as a temporary grouping for such atypical Nigerian archaeological works.
The eight animals on the neck of the vessel provide some information. Their four legs and curled tails, but no spots and no ears, rule out identification as leopards and suggest chameleons. The use of the chameleon in art can be documented from the western Sudan to central Africa. The lizard's ability to change color and separately rotate its eyes, as well as its slow quavering walk, are distinctive traits. In nature the chameleon's tail curls down, not up as here, but representations of spirals are important in the cosmologies of many African peoples. The spiral often refers to concepts of time and the ancestors.
Although the Edo peoples of the Benin Kingdom credit the chameleon with magical powers, it is not a common motif in their art except on iron staffs. It symbolizes the transformative power of the diviner/healer, and its ability to change to meet any situation makes it a symbol of wisdom. The chameleon's slow gait is compared to that of an old man--one with the wisdom of age. But because the chameleon is also the spy in the magical night and is capable of such quick adaptation, it is also the nickname given to tricky and unscrupulous persons.
To look for clues to the significance of the chameleon and this vessel, one could turn to the nearby Ijebu-Yoruba peoples, who make lidded wood boxes in the form of single chameleons. The chameleon (agemo) symbolizes the Ijebu reputation for powerful curses and medicines. The lizard's ability to transform its appearance is compared to the Ijebu peoples' history of surviving or defeating powerful enemies. The dominant cult among the Ijebu takes the name Agemo, and certain Agemo priests wear brass crowns that resemble royal beaded crowns. Although illustrated examples of these crowns do not feature chameleons, they do have the frontal faces and finial birds of Yoruba royal crowns. The grouping of the chameleons on this vessel resembles the vertical placement of birds on some Yoruba beaded crowns (including one in the museum's own collection, see 94-1-1). Agemo is a term synonymous with extraordinary leadership, and one of the followers of Oduduwa, the god who created the Yoruba kingdoms, adopted the name Agemo. Therefore, while the origin, function and meaning of this vessel are yet to be determined, its rarity, technical artistry and intriguing symbolic references make it a treasure.
Description:
Cast copper alloy vessel with bulbous bottom and elongated spout with eight chameleons attached to it.
Provenance:
Mr. A. A. Cowan, 1897 to 1954
K. John Hewett, London, after 1954
Werner Muensterberger, before 1978 to 1985
Exhibition History:
Ways of the River: Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta, Fowler Museum of Cultural History at University of California, Los Angeles, April 18-November 17, 2002
Published References:
Anderson, Martha G. and Philip M. Peek (eds). 2002. Ways of the Rivers: Arts and Environment of the Niger Delta. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, p. 40, no. 1.4.
National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 83-84, no. 55.
Sotheby's. 1954. Catalogue of Ethnographical Art. Auction catalogue (July 5). New York, no. 81.
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