It’s hard to miss the dramatic sweep of the giant ivory tusk emerging from the metal head. This piece is from Nigeria’s Benin Kingdom, one of the most powerful states in West Africa, and once stood on a palace altar to royal ancestors. The Oba* —the king—was an all-powerful being even after death. If he wasn’t satisfied with the way his son or grandson was behaving, he could stop crops from growing, or otherwise interfere with the living. If he was pleased, he could bless his descendant and all of Benin’s inhabitants. The new Oba is always the eldest son of the previous king, and the first thing he does when he comes to the throne is to create an altar to honor his father. It includes rattle staffs and brass bells to summon his father for prayers and offerings, sculptures of court officials to provide him a permanent entourage in the spirit world, and pairs of heads that represent royal majesty. Around their necks are stacked collars of valuable coral beads, and their crowns are made of similar beads woven in net form. Benin’s Edo* people believe the head is the seat of destiny and the most important part of the body, so even images that show the whole figure make the head extra large in its proportions. The carved ivory scenes depict palace officials and the Oba in a divine mode, with legs that are represented by electric mudfish. This extraordinary species can crawl on land for short distances and carry a shock, like an electric eel. They symbolize the king’s power to make his subjects tremble, and tie him to Olokun*, the god of the sea and wealth.