Head of an Oba

1550–1680

This Benin brass head is identified as belonging to the eighteenth century due to its overall cylindrical shape, beaded collar covering the chin, and the addition of bead clusters to the crown. The crown's pattern of crisscrossed beads with junctures marked by a dot in the center, as well as the three raised marks above each eye called ikharo, which are believed to represent scarification marks, are characteristic of this period. Typically, men would have three ikharo, while women and foreigners would have four. The pointed oval eyes are outlined with heavy stylized rims, but they are not decorated with incisions like later examples. Also, there is no wide-lipped flange at the base of the head, which became a significant part of nineteenth-century heads.