Pete Tillman
Mudfish, Benin 'bronze', 16th-17th C., British Museum
www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613626643 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Size 47 x 17 cm
British Museum photo, cropped and with very minor level adjustments. An admirably clear institutional photo! And an unusual one, of a local fish. I think this is an African snakehead, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachanna_africana
The Benin "bronzes" have been much in the news in the art world of late. Nigeria has been seeking their return for decades, to little avail. But the French Musee de Quai Branly has agreed in principle to return their substantial holdings, which they purchased from the British Admiralty, which auctioned off much of their war booty from the conquest of the Kingdom of Benin in 1897. Details are here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Bronzes
-- which includes a link to the BM holdings, by far the largest in the world.
Mudfish, Benin 'bronze', 16th-17th C., British Museum
www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613626643 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Size 47 x 17 cm
British Museum photo, cropped and with very minor level adjustments. An admirably clear institutional photo! And an unusual one, of a local fish. I think this is an African snakehead, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachanna_africana
The Benin "bronzes" have been much in the news in the art world of late. Nigeria has been seeking their return for decades, to little avail. But the French Musee de Quai Branly has agreed in principle to return their substantial holdings, which they purchased from the British Admiralty, which auctioned off much of their war booty from the conquest of the Kingdom of Benin in 1897. Details are here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Bronzes
-- which includes a link to the BM holdings, by far the largest in the world.