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Palace Sculptures of Abomey Combines Color Photographs of the Bas-Reliefs with a Lively History of Dahomey, Complemented by Rare Historical Images

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Palace Sculptures of Abomey Combines Color Photographs of the Bas-Reliefs with a Lively History of Dahomey, Complemented by Rare Historical Images 114 SUGGESTED READING Suggested Reading Assogba, Romain-Philippe. Le Musee d'Histoire Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson. Peoples de Ouidah: Decouverte de la COte des Esc/aves. of the Wo rld: Africans South of the Sahara. Ouidah, Benin: Editions Saint Michel, 1994. Detroit and London: Gale Research, 1991. Beckwith, Carol, and Angela Fisher. Pliya, Jean. Dahomey. Issy-les-Moulineaux, "The African Roots of Vo odoo." Na tional France: Classiques Africains, 1975. Geographic Magazine 88 (August 1995): 102-13. Ronen, Dov. Dahomey: Between Tradition and Blier, Suzanne Preston. African Vo dun: Art, Modernity. Ithaca, N.Y., and London: Cornell Psychology, and Power. Chicago: University of University Press, 1975. Chicago Press, 1995. Waterlot, E. G. Les bas-reliefs des Palais Royaux ___. "The Musee Historique in Abomey: d'Abomey. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie, 1926. Art, Politics, and the Creation of an African Museum." In Arte in Africa 2. Florence: Centro In addition to the scholarly works listed above, di Studi di Storia delle Arte Africane, 1991. interested readers may consult Archibald ___. "King Glele of Danhome: Divination Dalzel's account of Dahomey in the late eigh­ Portraits of a Lion King and Man of Iron." teenth century, The History of Dahomy: African Arts 23, no. 4 (October 1990): 42-53, An Inland Kingdom ofAf rica (1793; reprint, London, Frank Cass and Co., 1967), and Sir 93-94· Richard Burton's A Mission to Gelele, King of "The Place Where Vo dun Was Born." Dahome (1864; reprint, London, Routledge & Na tural History Magazine 104 (October 1995): Kegan Paul, 1966); both offer historical 40-49· European perspectives on the Dahomey king­ Decalo, Samuel. Historical Dictionary of Benin. dom. More recently, the kingdom's dramatic 3d ed. Lanham, Md., and London: Scarecrow history has also been treated in several works Press, 1995. of fiction. The Guadeloupean novelist Maryse Farwell, Byron. Burton: A Biography of Sir Conde uses the story of King Behanzin's exile Richard Francis Burton. New Yo rk: Holt, as a backdrop to the modern black experience Rinehart and Winston, 1963. in the Americas in The Last of the African Kings (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998). Gilfond, Henry. Vo odoo: Its Origins and The English writer Bruce Chatwin's short Practices. New Yo rk: Franklin Watts, 1976. historical novel The Viceroy of Ouidah (New Glele, Maurice Ahanhanzo. Le Danxome: Du Yo rk: Penguin Books, 1980), set in nineteenth­ pouvoir aja ii la nation fo n. Paris: Nubia, 1974. century Dahomey, is based on the life of a Haskins, Jim, and Joann Biondi. From Afa r to Portuguese adventurer who became an ally of Zulu: A Dictionary of African Cultures. New the Dahomean monarchy. It was the basis for Yo rk: Walker and Co., 1995. the film Cobra Ve rde by the German director We rner Herzog. There is also a 43-minute Herskovits, Melville J. Dahomey: An Ancient video, History To ld on Wa lls (Los Angeles: We st African Kingdom. Vol. 2. Evanston, Ill.: Getty Conservation Institute, 1997), that por­ Northwestern University Press, 1967. trays the Abomey bas-reliefs and their conser­ Koslow, Philip. Dahomey: The Wa rrior Kings. vation, as well as the living tradition of Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1997. bas-relief art in Benin today. 115 Project Participants The Getty Conservation Team Conservation Valerie Dorge Institute Michel Hebrard Neville Agnew Francesca Pique Group Director, Leslie H. Rainer Information Stephen Rickerby and Communications Sophie Small Fo rmer Director, Sp ecial Projects Trainees: Miguel Angel Corzo Leonard Ahonon Former Director Justin Alaro Giora Solar Dorothe Ayadokoun Group Director, Mizehoun Conservation Janvier Houlonon Gilbert Kinkin Marta de la Torre Constant Noanti Group Director, Agora Former Director, Administration and Training Program Logistics Mathias Labitan The Republic of Benin Kathleen Louw Marius Francisco Constant Samson Former Minister Sara Tucker of Culture and Julian Zugazagoitia Communication Pierre Metinhoue Photography, Video, Former Minister and Exhibit of Culture Mahasti Afshar and Communication Pedro Pablo Celed6n Denise Sossouhounto Pia Dominguez Former Director, Franck Houndegla Department of Cultural John Lewis Heritage Susan Middleton Duwayne Rude Rachida de Souza-Ayari Aurel Zeigler Former Director, Department Research of Cultural Heritage Joseph Adande Timothe Zannou Jerome Alladaye Minister of Culture and Suzanne Preston Blier Communication Cynthia Godlewski Sheri Saperstein Dancer performing at a reception at the Motel Abomey. Photograph by Susan Middleton, 1997. 116 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledg ments The fo ur-year-long project to conserve the bas-reliefs In this regard, the GCI would like to thank its of the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collaboration colleagues from ICCROM PREMA, CRATerre-EAG, the between the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and French Cooperation Agency, and Unesco for their the Ministry of Culture and Communication of the work to preserve the Royal Palaces of Abomey and Republic of Benin, grew out of a shared belief in the the collections of the Historic Museum of Abomey. critical importance of the bas-reliefs as a visual record A number of institutions supplied historical of Fon culture. An extension of that project, this book information and visual material on the Dahomey seeks to bring to a wider audience the remarkable kingdom. We would like to thank the Musee story of the Abomey bas-reliefs and the kingdom Albert-Kahn-Departement des Hauts-de-Seine, whose history they recount. France; the Musee de I'Homme, Paris; the Eliot The conservation project and this book would Elisofon Photographic Archives of the Smithsonian not have been possible without the dedicated work Institution, Washington D.C.; the Metropolitan of many individuals and the support of a number of Museum of Art, New Yo rk; the Pierre Ve rger institutions. We gratefully acknowledge the services Foundation, Bahia, Brazil; the Department of Special rendered by officials of the Ministry of Culture and Collections, Charles E. Yo ung Research Library, Communication. The GCI would also like to thank University of California, Los Angeles; and the Getty the staff of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Research Institute fo r the History of Art and the the Republic of Benin; we owe particular debts of Humanities (GRI), Los Angeles. gratitude to the Department's conservation trainees We thank the authors, Francesca Pique, con­ -Leonard Ahonon, Justin Alaro, and Dorothe servation specialist at the GCI, and Leslie H. Rainer, Ayadokoun Mizehoun-who became indispensable conservation consultant, for their dedication in man­ colleagues. The staff of the Historic Museum of aging the project to conserve the bas-reliefs and fo r Abomey provided valuable support as well. their work on this book. Jerome Alladaye, professor In the first of their many contributions to the of history, National University of Benin; Rachida project, Joseph Adande, of the National University de Souza-Ayari, fo rmer director, Department of of Benin, and Suzanne Preston Blier, of Harvard Cultural Heritage, Republic of Benin; and Suzanne University, initially brought the challenge of conserv­ Preston Biier, professor of African art history, ing the Abomey bas-reliefs to the attention of the Harvard University all made invaluable contributions GCI. Nondichao Bachalou, the official historian of the to the text. Mark Greenberg offered wise counsel Royal Families of Abomey, shared his extensive throughout. We also thank the GRI staff members knowledge of the history of the bas-reliefs and their who helped locate rare archival photographs, and the importance in Benin today. Three wall paintings con­ staff of Visual Resource Management and the servators -Michel Hebrard, Stephen Rickerby, and Information Center at the GCI, who assisted with Sophie Small-provided technical expertise. Constant photo archiving and bibliographic research. Special Samson coordinated logistics in Benin and offered thanks go to Vickie Karten for the attractive design of advice on protocol. Susan Middleton provided superb the book, and to Anita Keys fo r her work in develop­ photographic documentation. Claude Savary shared ing the manuscript and coordinating its production. material collected during his work in Benin. We extend our gratitude to the book's managing At the GCI, Neville Agnew supported the pro­ editor, Tevvy Ball, who refined the draft manuscript ject from its inception, encouraging the work of GCI into a seamless whole, adding new text and illustra­ staffers in the field, while Giora Solar brought the tions to round out the narrative as he shepherded project to successful completion. Valerie Dorge coor­ this volume through to completion. Finally, we are dinated the training of the Beninois conservation indebted to Neville Agnew, director of Information technicians; Sheri Saperstein compiled the training and Communications at the GCI, and Chris Hudson, material; and Kathleen Louw, Anna Zagorski, and director of publications at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Back cover: Cynthia Godlewski handled support services. Kathleen for making this book a reality. Louw also organized the September 1997 conference Reconstructed palace on the conservation of the Abomey bas-reliefs, which Timothy P. Whalen of Glele. served as a fitting finale not only to the GCI's project Director Photographs by but also to the initiatives carried out concurrently by Getty Conservation Institute Susan Middleton, 1996. other international organizations. T. e Republic of Benin in West Africa is home to more than forty ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Fon. In the early seventeenth century, the Fon established a society ruled by a dynasty of kings, who over the years forged the powerful kingdom of Dahomey. In their capital city of Abomey, the rulers built a remarkable complex of palaces that became the center of the kingdom's political, social, and religious life. The palace walls were decorated with colorful low-relief sculptures, or bas-reliefs, which recount legends and battles and glorify the dynasty's reign. In a society with no written language, these visual stories have perpetuated the history and myths of the Fon people.
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