|
Court and ceremonial art makes up a vital corpus of Benin art. Private and public ceremonies mark many of the important moments in Benin’s yearly calendar. In the past, an elaborate series of rites were performed throughout the year to secure otherworldly support for the kingdom’s well-being and to celebrate decisive events in its history.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/benin/index )〕 ==Pectorals, Hip Ornaments and Waist Pendants== Chiefs and titleholders in Benin wear a variety of brass ornaments as part of their elaborate regalia for palace ceremonies. Most are worn at the left hip, covering the closure of their wrapped skirts. Typically made of brass, they are often worn horizontally and are held in place by large loops located at the top and bottom of the back of the ornament. Pectoral masks depict a human face symmetrically framed by an ornamental flange with loops for small metal rattles, called ''crotals'', at the bottom, below the ears, and by a row of projecting trapezoids at the top, above the ears.〔 The foreheads of pectoral masks are inlaid with iron rectangles, known as ''ikan aro'' ("cane of eye", which give the face the look of determination, fierceness and power that is appropriate to a ruler. The ornaments that chiefs wear over their left hip most often depict the human face but are different in form from the pectorals. They have a decorative flange around the lower portion of the face, usually representing either coiled mudfish, an openwork lattice or guilloche pattern, or a fluted collar, with a row of small loops directly below or behind it.〔 A collar of coral beads is depicted below the face, and above the face is a latticework coral-beaded cap with clusters of coral beads at the edges. The face has three raised keloid scarification marks (''ikharo'') above each eye. Some masks are inlaid with a strip of metal down the forehead and/or nose. The most likely explanation for this marking is that it indicates ''urebo'', a protective mixture of herbs and chalk, which was rubbed on the nose and forehead to ward off danger during festivals.〔 Earlier scholarship suggested that sacrificial blood was also in this mixture. Suspension loops at the top indicate that the pendant was worn at the waist. Many Benin pendants incorporated semicircular or shield-shaped fields into their designs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Benin court and ceremonial art」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|