YORUBA PEOPLE

Large Bronze Benin Leopard

YORUBA PEOPLE

Large Bronze Benin Leopard

AAL1311
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This finely bronze royal leopard worked was done by a blacksmith craftsman using the lost wax technique, with beautifully detailed patterns, depicting the leopard skin. A "leopard" was used as a symbol of justice and power in the Yoruba culture. The leopard appears more frequently in Yoruba art, as "king of the forest", its reputation is as great as that of Oba, or king. The leopard became a real symbol, as it announced the balance between his strength, his reserve and moderation as a leader. The leopard symbolizes the complete harmony between two imperious forces: menacing and the moderator that the people believed that every ideal Oba should possess. The figures of a leopard were the exclusive property of the oba, and figures like this were kept on royal altars.

It is made of bronze.

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