COLLECTION NAME:
Visual Resources Teaching Collection
mediaCollectionId
ArtArtHiAAH~7~7
Visual Resources Teaching Collection
Collection
true
Image Record ID:
aahi0011897
image_record_id
aahi0011897
Image Record ID
false
Work Title (display):
Wooden Sculpture
Work Title notes (display):
translation from French
Image Title:
full view
Work Dates (display):
ca. 1600-1900
Work Dates type:
creation
Image Date (display):
2013-10-16
Work Creator (display):
unknown Dahomey
Work Creator gender:
unknown
work_creator_or_agent_gender
unknown
Work Creator gender
false
Work Creator notes (display):
Dahomey, kingdom in western Africa that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that is now southern Benin. According to tradition, at the beginning of the 17th century three brothers vied for the kingdom of Allada, which, like neighbouring Whydah (now Ouidah), had grown rich on the slave trade. When one of the brothers won control of Allada, the other two fled. One went southeast and founded Porto Novo, on the coast east of Whydah. The other, Do-Aklin, went north to found the kingdom of Abomey, core of the future Dahomey. They all paid tribute to the powerful Yoruba kingdom of Oyo to the east. Do-Aklin's grandson Wegbaja (c. 164585) made Abomey into a powerful state. He was succeeded by Akaba (16851708) and Agaja (170832). Agaja, eager to buy arms from European traders on the Gulf of Guinea coast, conquered Allada (1724) and Whydah (1727), where European forts had already been established. The enlarged state was called Dahomey; Abomey, Allada, and Whydah were its provinces. Thriving on the sale of slaves to the Europeans, the Kingdom of Dahomey prospered and acquired new provinces under kings Tegbesu (173274), Kpengla (177489), and Agonglo (178997). After King Adandozan (17971818) was overthrown by the great Gezu (181858), Dahomey reached the high point of its power and fame. The kingdom was a form of absolute monarchy unique in Africa. The king, surrounded by a magnificent retinue, was the unchallenged pinnacle of a rigidly stratified society of royalty, commoners, and slaves. He governed through a centralized bureaucracy staffed by commoners who could not threaten his authority. Each male official in the field had a female counterpart at court who monitored his activities and advised the king. Conquered territories were assimilated through intermarriage, uniform laws, and a common tradition of enmity to the Yoruba. Dahomey was organized for war, not only to expand its boundaries but also to take captives as slaves. Slaves were either sold to the Europeans in exchange for weapons or kept to work the royal plantations that supplied food for the army and court. From approximately 1680, a regular census of population was taken as a basis for military conscription. Female soldiers, called Amazons by the Europeans, served as royal bodyguards when not in combat. Gezu heightened the splendour of the court, encouraged the arts, and refined the bureaucracy. His armies freed Dahomey from the humiliation of paying tribute to Oyo. After about 1840, however, the kingdom's fortunes changed as Britain succeeded in putting an end to the overseas slave trade. Gezu accomplished a smooth transition to palm oil exports; slaves, instead of being sold, were kept to work palm plantations. Palm oil was far less lucrative than slaves, however, and an economic decline followed under Gezu's successor, Glele (185889). When the French won control of Porto Novo and Cotonou and attracted coastal trade there, commerce at Whydah collapsed. After the accession of Behanzin (188994) hostilities were precipitated. In 1892 a French expedition under Colonel Alfred-Amédée Dodds defeated the Dahomeyans and established a protectorate. Behanzin was deported to the West Indies. His former kingdom was absorbed into the French colony of Dahomey, with its capital at Porto Novo. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/149772/Dahomey)
Work Worktype:
carvings (visual works)
work_type
carvings (visual works)
Work Worktype
false
Work Worktype:
sculpture (visual works)
work_type
sculpture (visual works)
Work Worktype
false
Work Category (VRC classification):
sculptures and installations
work_category__ucbaahvrc_classification_
sculptures and installations
Work Category (VRC classification)
false
Work Material and Technique (display):
wood
Work Location (Repository or Site) name:
Galerie Charles Ratton et Guy Ladrière
Work Location (Repository or Site) role:
gallery
Work Location (Geographic) name:
Paris, France
Image Source Reproduction citation:
Dagen, Philippe, and Maureen Murphy. Charles Ratton. L'invention Des Arts "primitifs". Paris: Skira Flammarion, 2013. Print.
image_source_copy_from_print_name
Dagen, Philippe, and Maureen Murphy. Charles Ratton. L'invention Des Arts "primitifs". Paris: Skira Flammarion, 2013. Print.
Image Source Reproduction citation
false
Image Source Reproduction refid:
978-2-35744-063-0
Image Source Reproduction page number:
67
Image Source Reproduction plate-figure number:
fig. 39
Image Source Reproduction refid type:
ISBN
Image Rights (display):
© Musée du quai Branly
Image Rights fair use checklist:
1) use of this image is for education and educational research; 2) access is restricted to University of Colorado and Auraria Higher Education Center communities; 3) the original photographer is credited if known; 4) the image is published; 5) the amount of the work in relation to the whole is needed for education or educational research; 6) the number of derivatives is the minimum required for education or educational research; 7) the image has not been found to be reasonably available for sale; 8) duplication of the image does not violate preexisting contracts.
Work Rights (display):
unknown
Terms of Agreement and Conditions of Use:
YOU AGREE: Luna Imaging's Insight Software and the digital image collection associated with it (the Software) are being provided by the University of Colorado under the following license. By obtaining, using, and/or copying this work, you (the Licensee) agree that you have read, understood, and will comply with the following terms and conditions. 1. The Software contains the University of Colorado's Department of Art and Art History's implementation of a digital image collection; 2. Any images obtained through use of the Software will be used only for non-profit, educational purposes; 3. The use of images obtained through the software will only be used while the Licensee is either: a) an employee of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver, or the Community College of Denver, or b) an enrolled student at the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver, or the Community College of Denver; 4. When the Licensee is no longer an employee or student of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver or Community College of Denver, either by an action of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver or the Community College of Denver or due to actions of the Licensee, the licensee will cease to use any images exported from the Department of Art and Art History's digital image collection; 5. The Licensee agrees to indemnify the University for claims and liability arising out of the use of the Software or for any violations of this license; 6. THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SUPPLIES THE SOFTWARE WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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Holding Institution:
University of Colorado Boulder
Collection:
Art and Art History Visual Resources Center
Collection info and contact:
For information about this collection, see . For specific questions, suggestions, or corrections about the descriptive data for images, contact aahvrc@colorado.edu. Please include the Image Record ID ('aahi' followed by a 7-digit number) for each image in question.