Small Fon bronze depicting a fish. We assume that the owners of the altar of which it once formed a part, were fishermen. The base of the fish has an hole through which it was once attached to an iron ‘Asen’ altar which has disintegrated long ago. These altars served as monuments to the dead for the Fon people. Placed in family shrines, such altars became the focus of interaction with the ancestors. Very often human altar figures were flanked by animals just like this fish or cherished objects. The bronze dates from early 20th century. Ouidah Fon culture. Benin. West Africa. Size including wooden stand. Height 7 cm. Width 6 cm. Depth 8 cm.