Benin Bronzes: Court Dwarfs

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by Henk Bekker

Benin Bronzes: Court Dwarfs

The Weltmuseum Wien has with just over 200 items, the seventh-largest collection of Benin bronzes in the world. These were looted from Benin in 1897 with the items in Vienna purchased from the British Museum in London, which had to sell some works to finance the expedition retrospectively.

Two highly praised works are the two Court Dwarfs (akaeronmwon), produced from brass in Benin in the 14th or 15th century. These are among the earliest art from Benin and probably depict two historic individuals. Court dwarfs were used at least since the 15th century in the Benin court as the voice of the king and to break “delicate” news.