Animal Depictions in the Benin Bronzes
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| Free admission |
| 12 years and older |
| English, German |
| Benin Kingdom, Second Floor |
| Belongs to: Ethnological Collections and Asian Art |
Godfrey Ekhator, a historian from Benin City, Nigeria, who is currently a fellow at the Ethnological Museum Berlin, is studying animal depictions in the so-called Benin bronzes. Not only are animals (and plants) important carriers of meaning in the complex visual language of these historical works, they also bear witness to extractivist practices since colonization. The visitors are invited to join this new perspective and follow wildcats, elephants, spiders and birds through the exhibition.
Osaisonor Godfrey Ekhator-Obogie is the Executive Secretary and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Benin Studies. He is a DAAD MuseumLab Fellow (2021), a Fellow of the French Institute for Research in Africa, Nigeria (IFRA-NIGERIA) and a member of the Lagos Studies Association (LSA). He is a freelance tour guide for visitors to the historical/heritage sites and monuments of the Ancient Benin Kingdom in and around Benin City. He has developed a flair for the promotion of the history, cultural tradition and language of Benin/Edo-speaking people. His area of specialisation is the cultural history of the Benin people/kingdom. His research interests are Ethnicity and Nationalism, Migration and Citizenship, Cultural History in general and Benin Studies in particular. Ekhator-Obogie graduated from Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Education (History). He holds an M.A. in History from the Ibadan School of History in Nigeria’s premier University of Ibadan. In addition, Ekhator-Obogie is a registered member of the Nigeria Teachers Registration Council; he has authored articles/papers in local and international journals including the popular ‘Benin RedBook’. He has also attended and read papers at academic conferences and workshops. He is one of the co-curators of the Exhibition, ‘Benin, A Looted History’ with Prof. Barbara Plankensteiner at the MARKK Hamburg.