De stadt Benin

"The Benin City" (caption translation). This procession of the Oba of Benin shows a number of features in Benin City in the Bight of Benin region. In the background was the house of the queens. On the left was the royal courtyard, containing several palaces, showing their spires. The king is depicted in the center mounted on a horse with his mounted nobles in procession on the right. The king is surrounded by dwarfs, and leading the procession on the left are the musicians who are also holding the royal tigers. Olfert Dapper (1636–1689), who was a Dutch physician and writer. Dapper wrote about world history and geography, although he never travelled outside the Netherlands. In an informed discussion of Dapper as an historical source, Adam Jones explains how there is virtually no evidence that "Dapper took much interest in what sort of visual material was to accompany his text, and that it was the publisher, Van Meurs, who probably did all the engraving himself." Even those these images have been used as historical evidence in modern works, Jones concludes that "few of the plates showing human beings and artefacts are of any value. . . [and] originated solely from Van Meurs' imagination” (see "Decompiling Dapper: A Preliminary Search for Evidence," History in Africa 17 (1990): p. 187-190). For a discussion of the authenticity of the architectural details in this engraving see Susan Denyer, African Traditional Architecture (New York: Africana. 1978), p. 82.