Art Institute: Benin- Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria

Where: The Art Institute of Chicago

Start Date & Time: July 10, 2008 at 12:00 AM
End Date & Time: September 21, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Url: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/benin/index

Event Details:

Five hundred years of history and hundreds of artifacts have been conglomerated into a collection that has been five years in the making. Benin - Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria comes to Chicago for the grand finale of the tour before the artifacts are
returned to their rightful home of Nigeria. The collection first toured through European museums and now comes to The Art Institute of Chicago as the only venue in North America.

The Benin culture is very unique to Nigeria. The culture is dominated by mysticism and the arts. The king, known as an oba, is believed to be both divine and divinely chosen. The oba is believed to have power over both land and sea. Because of this, there are several animals that represent the power of the oba and are depicted throughout the Benin art. Some of these creatures are snakes, frogs, and mudfish because they seamlessly adjust from land-dwelling to sea-dwelling. Besides those amphibious creatures, another animal is said to represent the oba and be his animal equal. That creature is the leopard; the Benin believe that the leopard is the most powerful creature in the world.

The Benin culture holds artists in high regard, especially those who work with brass and gold;because of this, much of the artwork is cast bronze. Not all of the artwork is done in bronze or gold though. There is also a high regard for coral beads and for ivory carving.

The collection is comprised of over 220 pieces from both museums and private collections around the world. The exhibit will be on display in Chicago from July 10 until September 21, 2008.