Male Warrior Figure (LNB Industry)

Figure: Male Warrior
Figure: Male Warrior
	The figure, which is currently kept in the MET.
Material	Brass, Clay, Teeth, Glass Beads.
Size	height: 31.8 cm (12.5 in) ; width: 22.2cm (8.75 in) ; depth: 17.1 cm (6.75 in)
Created	15th/16th century
Present location	MET, New York
Registration	1977.173
Culture	Lower Niger Bronze Industries

This depiction of a standing warrior belongs to a Lower Niger Bronze Industry. He stands, wearing an asymmetrical skirt, a leopard's-tooth necklace and a Bell necklace, which would have intimidated enemies and protected the wearer in combat. His left hand wraps around a (now broken) sword, his right carries a rectilinear shield; holes in the center and heel of his feet indicate he may have originally been connected to a larger structure; the top of his face bears marks of Scarification,^[1] and he additionally wears a bead cap and necklace.^[2]

Cultural Origins

Though his garb is clearly similar to that worn by Benin warriors depicted in the famous Benin Bronzes, the style of this piece (such as the "vigorous" gestures and upward-sweeping loincloth) are uncommon in Benin art. This, combined with the "rustic" style suggest it belongs to a separate artistic tradition, which is currently grouped with the "basket" Lower Niger Bronze Industries, perhaps also indicating the widespread nature of such cultural traits; it is tentatively suggested to belong to a hybrid Yoruba-Benin culture.^[2] The piece is cast bronze.^[2]

Benin Bronze, kept in Dallas Museum of Art, depicting a similarly clad soldier.
Benin Bronze, kept in Horniman Museum, depicting a warrior with similar though also quite distinct garments, and pose.
Benin Bronze Sculpture kept in African art in the Field Museum of Natural History with warrior bearing similar garb.

Lower Niger Bronze Industries

The Lower Niger Bronze Industries encompass the works produced by multiple distinct cultural traditions, bound primarily by geographic location in the Lower Niger.

References

^ ^a ^b "Figure: Male Warrior". Metmuseum. Met MUseum Publications.
^ ^a ^b ^c Newton, Douglas (1989). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 12, The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas. New York, N.Y.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 89.

[MET-1] "Figure: Male Warrior". Metmuseum. Met MUseum Publications.

[The_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art-2] Newton, Douglas (1989). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 12, The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas. New York, N.Y.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 89.

[1]

[2]