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Lot Essay
This head featured in Kifaru, a Saga of Safari, Russell Aitken's acclaimed documentary film on Africa made in 1949.
Jacques Seligmann's receipt of 20 February, 1940 states: This head was sold in 1900 in London to the Consul Geheimrat Professor Dr. Hans Meyer in Leipzig, Germany, and purchased in 1933 from the Heirs of the Consul.
This head in bronze was bought through the courtesy of the Volkerkunde Museum (Ethnology Museum) of Leipzig, Germany, and has been expertised by its Curator.
Dr. Hans Meyer was the greatest benefactor of the Leipzig museum, donating collections of items from several parts of the world. He bought objects both for the museum and for his private collection and the present head was one of the latter. Because of his close ties to the museum, the curator at the time of his death assisted the family with the sale of some items, including the present head. At his death most of his private collection was left on loan to the museum because no German museum had the funds to purchase such an important group at the end of WWII.
Benin heads have always found ready buyers but the prices given for the early, more sensitively modelled, heads and the later, larger ones have varied considerably over the past century. W.D. Webster in his catalogues of 1898-1901 lists early heads (which he refers to as "masks") for between £25 and £35, but the later heads at £35 to £45. The leading collector and Impressionist picture dealer, Klaus Perls, would have agreed with Webster - his collection (which is now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York) contains seven late heads. He considered them more imposing and 'tougher' than the earlier heads of which he had only one aberrant example.
Jacques Seligmann's receipt of 20 February, 1940 states: This head was sold in 1900 in London to the Consul Geheimrat Professor Dr. Hans Meyer in Leipzig, Germany, and purchased in 1933 from the Heirs of the Consul.
This head in bronze was bought through the courtesy of the Volkerkunde Museum (Ethnology Museum) of Leipzig, Germany, and has been expertised by its Curator.
Dr. Hans Meyer was the greatest benefactor of the Leipzig museum, donating collections of items from several parts of the world. He bought objects both for the museum and for his private collection and the present head was one of the latter. Because of his close ties to the museum, the curator at the time of his death assisted the family with the sale of some items, including the present head. At his death most of his private collection was left on loan to the museum because no German museum had the funds to purchase such an important group at the end of WWII.
Benin heads have always found ready buyers but the prices given for the early, more sensitively modelled, heads and the later, larger ones have varied considerably over the past century. W.D. Webster in his catalogues of 1898-1901 lists early heads (which he refers to as "masks") for between £25 and £35, but the later heads at £35 to £45. The leading collector and Impressionist picture dealer, Klaus Perls, would have agreed with Webster - his collection (which is now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York) contains seven late heads. He considered them more imposing and 'tougher' than the earlier heads of which he had only one aberrant example.