Altar (asen)

Fon; Attributed to Akati Akpele Kendo

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

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Object Label

Asen altars serve as monuments to the dead for the Fon. Placed in family shrines, they become the focus of interaction with ancestors. This asen is from Ouidah, a coastal city whose trade with Europeans (initially Portuguese) was flourishing as early as the seventeenth century. Thus, the central figure, which represents the deceased, wears a stovepipe hat, smokes a pipe, sits on a straight-backed chair, and stands beneath an umbrella—all symbols that derive their power from association with powerful European traders. This work has been attributed to Akati Akpene Kendo, a well-known artist in the service of the Fon king Glele (r. 1858–89).

Caption

Fon; Attributed to Akati Akpele Kendo Yorùbá, flourished 1858–1889. Altar (asen), late 19th century. Iron, pigment, and wood, 50 x 12 in. Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1990.19. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1990.19_PS2.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Arts of Africa

Title

Altar (asen)

Date

late 19th century

Geography

Place made: Ouidah, Benin

Medium

Iron, pigment, and wood

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

50 x 12 in.

Credit Line

Frank L. Babbott Fund

Accession Number

1990.19

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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