Asen (Altar)

Asen altars serve as monuments to the dead for the Fon. Placed in family shrines, they become the focus of interaction with ancestors. This asen is from Ouidah, a coastal city whose trade with Europeans (initially Portuguese) was flourishing as early as the seventeenth century. Thus, the central figure, which represents the deceased, wears a stovepipe hat, smokes a pipe, sits on a straight-backed chair, and stands beneath an umbrella—all symbols that derive their power from association with powerful European traders. This work has been attributed to Akati Akpene Kendo, a well-known artist in the service of the Fon king Glele (r. 1858–89).