Antique African Benin Fon Tribe Forged Iron Plant Sculpture Asen Altar, Abomey

Description

This is a antique handmade Fon tribe lost wax cast brass plant sculpture which was made to be attached to a Asen staff top and it was made by a craftsman of Abomey. The Fon tribal people of Benin kept memorial sculptural Asen staffs which were an ancestral type altar hand forged of iron that was planted or pushed into the ground of the of the Asenxo (Asen house) or the courtyard of the family compound where the deceased members of the family are memorialized and these staffs were tended by the elder woman in the family. Known as Asen, these forged iron staffs were created for each ancestor who had passed on and they served as a link between the living and the dead where offerings and recognition would be offered to each Asen during the dry season in a ceremony called Ahanbiba. It is in front of the Asen that the living meet the dead and speak to them.
This Fon Asen staff plant sculptural piece measures 5.50 inches tall by 8.50 inches wide. This is in authentic original antique condition showing some patina and rust, one missing plant limb and one limb has a few spots of metal loss. This piece was meant to be a standing sculpture on a Asen Altar staff. Does not stand. No longer is part of an Asen staff altar. Still has the rivet in the perforation for attaching to the altar.
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