祭坛戒指 - 美国大都会艺术博物馆展品查阅

品名（中）	祭坛戒指
品名（英）	Altar Ring
入馆年号	1991年，1991.17.134a, b
策展部门	迈克尔·洛克菲勒之翼（The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing）
创作者
创作年份	公元 1600 - 公元 1897
创作地区	尼日利亚, 贝宁（Nigeria, Court of Benin (?)）
分类	金属雕塑（Metal-Sculpture）
尺寸	高 1 7/8 × 宽 8 1/2 × 深 8 1/2 英寸 (4.8 × 21.6 × 21.6 厘米)
介绍（中）	这枚黄铜戒指的图像与人类的牺牲有关。沿着圆环的圆周排列着三个塞住嘴并被砍下的头颅和四个被捆绑并被斩首的尸体；秃鹫被描绘成在吃遗骸。一个大得多的头，上面覆盖着垂直的条纹，戴着一顶精致的圆锥形帽子，没有塞住嘴，很可能代表着统治者，而不是牺牲的受害者。这些具象元素中穿插着圆形罐子的描绘，用来装水和草药。这种牺牲很少发生，是为了加强和保护整个社区或王国而设计的重大场合这种戒指在贝宁王国以及奥沃、伊菲和伊杰布等约鲁巴首都都有发现。尽管这种祭坛戒指在形式和功能上基本相似，但由于其风格特征，可以将其归因于各种黄铜铸造中心。这枚戒指可能来自贝宁王国边缘的一个省级地区。虽然其细长的横截面、大直径和高浮雕让人想起了贝宁的类似作品，但统治者有条纹的脸、受害者纤细的四肢和孵化的厚眼睑在外观上显然不是埃多。
介绍（英）	The imagery of this brass ring relates to human sacrifice. Arrayed along the ring's circumference are three gagged and severed heads and four bound, decapitated bodies; vultures are depicted eating the remains. A much larger head, covered in vertical striations and wearing an elaborate, conical hat, is not gagged and likely represents a ruler rather than a sacrificial victim. Interspersed among these figurative elements are depictions of round pots meant to hold water and herbal medicines. Performed infrequently, such sacrifices were momentous occasions designed to strengthen and protect an entire community or kingdom. Rings of this kind have been found throughout the Benin kingdom, as well as at Yoruba capitals such as Owo, Ife, and Ijebu. Although largely similar to one another in form and function, such altar rings may be attributed to various brass-casting centers by virtue of their stylistic characteristics. This ring probably derives from a provincial region at the edges of the Benin kingdom. While its slender cross section, large diameter, and high relief recall similar works from Benin, the ruler's striated face and the victim's willowy limbs and thick, hatched eyelids are distinctly non-Edo in appearance.