Das ist der Preis für die folgende Bewertung: An Important Middle Period Benin Bronze Leopard Head, the

Beschreibung : spherical head supported by a fragmentary neck below a large half-moon shaped open upturned mouth revealing two pairs of large fangs and rows of smaller teeth, a circular hole pierced in the center, the flattened nose above framed by raised whiskers and surmounted by deep-set, upward-tilting almond-shaped eyes with bulging vertical pupils, leaf-shaped ears (one broken off), with a large hole at the crown, the whole covered with a finely incised floral pattern overlaid with spots in low relief; fine aged patina. Height 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm.) Exhibited: New York, Furman Gallery, The Animal Image, October 1-November 15, 1957 Syracuse, New York, Joe and Emily Lowe Art Center, Masterpieces of African Sculpture, February 16-April 1, 1964, no. 131 Tokyo, Seibu Museum of Art, African Tribal Art, 1978, no. 903 Literature: Furman, 1957, illus. Piening, 1964, fig. 131, illus. Hersey, 1978, front cover This head and its companion piece in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (no. 1978.412.304, cf. Houston, 1968, plate 15) are unique in the corpus of Benin art. They are the only free-standing leopard heads of this quality known. Another similar type of head appears to be a very late version of the genre (in the Alsdorf Collection, see Wardwell, 1960, fig. 162). Another leopard head with a recessed rather than overlaid treatment for the spots (Nigeria Museum, Lagos in MMA 53.22.13) shows a similar treatment in the eyes including raised ovals inset with metal pupils, but the casting on the rest of the piece is of inferior quality. Both our head and the one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art are so similar that they probably were cast as a pair like the full size statues of leopards (Eyo and Willett, 1980, plate 80-81). The floral guilloche motif is more than likely the result of European influence in Benin. It is found on the statues of Portuguese crossbowmen (Fagg, 1963, fig. 42 and Houston, 1968, fig. 16), on bracelets with Portuguese heads (Ezra, 1992, fig. 77 & 78), buckets (Ezra, 1992, fig. 108), lidded bowls (Idem, fig. 114), a brass oblong box (Pitt Rivers, 1900, fig. 182), square bells with Portuguese heads (Dark, 1962, fig. 161) and a gong (Pitt Rivers, 1900, fig. 76). The majority of these objects show the presence of Portuguese heads and some appear of European origin such as the brass box. This floral motif does not appear on any plaques, memorial heads or figures of animals. One must conclude that it was introduced by the Portuguese. The head in the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been dated by Fagg to the 17th century (as per conversation dated December 8, 1958 in the catalogue cards of the Museum) which seems consistent with the quality of the cast, the level of excellence of the chasing on the surface and the presence of this unique floral motif on both heads.
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