Waist Pendant: Equestrian

16th–19th century

The city-state of Benin was founded by the Edo-speaking peoples and was a culturally rich center with constantly evolving power dynamics. According to tradition, in circa 1300, Edo chiefs approached neighboring leader Oranmiyan of Ife to establish a divinely sanctioned royal dynasty. The rulers of Benin, known as obas, played a dual role as chief priests and leaders of the palace officials. During the reign of Oba Ewuare in the fifteenth century, Benin's armies were formed, and its capital was fortified with a massive wall. Portuguese traders sought commercial treaties with Benin, which extended its authority to the Niger delta and the coastal lagoon of Lagos by 1500. Benin's major exports of pepper, textiles, and ivory were exchanged for imported metals, including brass, which inspired court artists to create works ranging from ancestral portraits to decorative plaques. During exchanges with Europeans, Edo carvers produced exquisite ivory artifacts for princely collections. While Benin's independent leaders maintained control over their engagement with European agents for nearly five hundred years, they began trading captives for firearms in the eighteenth century due to regional power contests. Internal and external developments in the nineteenth century impacted the standing and vulnerability of Benin's monarchs. Under Oba Adolo, the balance of power shifted, with powerful chiefs gaining more control, leading to bitter feuds and conspiracies during the reign of his successor Ovonramwen. Concurrently, Islam was on the rise in the rival state of Oyo, Christianity was embraced by the southern Yoruba, and abolition of the slave trade was leading to the demise of the Itsekiri monarchy, while local British officials increasingly sought to undermine the oba's authority.