Poets on Art

Benin Bell, n/d

Yoruba, Nigeria

The Small Bells of Benin

Here in a Chicago museum, these small bells of Benin,

without ringing, are bringing their charm to a foreign scene.

The concave cilindrical draping of some

is as prim as the poise of a Quaker maid.

While the rare quadrangular forms of the rest

with their molded latticed designs, suggest

the iron fences displayed.

In New Orleans, and who can escape

the quaint, spellbound, gargoyle-like

bronze faces that stare from their settings

of thin metal lace?

I wish I could obtain one of these bells

or even a facsimile, but the formula

to their deft mouldings was lost

and hasn't been quite reproduced or found.

Margaret Danner (American - 1915-1984)

Impressions of African Art Forms

[no city], Broadside Press, 1968

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Friday, February 08, 2008