Autobiography via Objects and Ceremony: Oba Esigie’s Prophetic Bird and Benin Export Ivories

This published volume will be peer-reviewed and emerges from a conference held in Spring 2019 with revised and extended papers. The dating of ivories made for export to Portugal has been somewhat tenuous: late 15th or early 16th century. While not all works can be pinned down precisely, those that feature a single bird--particularly one with outstretched wings--must post-date 1519. During the period 1519-1521 (the precise year is uncertain), Oba Esigie encountered a prophetic bird that urged him to turn back from his invasion of Idah. He ignored it and ordered it shot. This landmark event became his hallmark: he created a festival around it, topped the towers of his new palace with its image, and it began to appear on plaques and other objects internally, as well as for export. This not only helps to date the ivories, it also allows an assessment of the royal ivory carvers' incorporation of local material into export art, and its acceptability by the Portuguese.