Review by Choice Review
This is the catalog of an exhibition of 21 works of art from the West African city-state of Benin, transferred from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden to the National Museum of African Art in 1985. It is organized into three major sections that deal with representations of rulers, members of the court, and foreign visitors. The text is an excellent synthesis of the voluminous literature on Benin, from the early accounts of travelers such as Reginald Bacon's 1897 Benin; The City of Blood to the recent Paula Ben-Amos's The Art of Benin (CH, Apr '81). In scope it is, of course, limited to the material from the Hirshhorn Collection, while the study by Ben-Amos is more comprehensive. The production is lavish, with excellent black-and-white photographs of each piece, as well as informative photos taken by William Fagg and Eliot Elisofon of ceremonies in Benin. Most useful to visitors to the museum and to libraries with holdings on African art.-C.D. Roy, University of Iowa
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
