Ancestral shrine, House of the Oba, Benin City, Nigeria

The photograph depicts the altar dedicated to the Oba Ovonramwen (reigned 1888-1914). "From the early eighteenth century to the present day, foreign visitors to Benin City have observed finely cast heads, some supporting carved tusks, on ancestral altars in the royal palace. The altar groupings were destroyed in 1897 when many objects were removed by the British military and a fire swept the palace. With the restoration of the Benin monarchy in 1914, the new Oba, Eweka II (d. 1933), commissioned heads and other objects for an altar dedicated to his father, Oba Ovonramwen (reigned 1888-97; d.1914)." [Freyer Br., 1987: Royal Benin Art. Smithsonian Institution Press]. "Benin City and the palace of the Oba are marked out by shrines which articulate the role and traditions of the Oba and his predecessors as rulers of the city and the kingdom. Throughout the city there are also domestic shrines, found in many households despite the active proselytizing of Christianity in all its forms during this century." [Gore Ch., 1998: Ritual, Performance and Media in Urban Contemporary Shrine Configurations in Benin City, Nigeria; Ritual, Performance, Media. pp.66-84. Routledge]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.