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Recade or Royal Ensign Fon (Abomey, Benin Republic)

The Gbe language spoken in the ancient kingdom of Dahomey was full of words of Portuguese origin and one of them was “recade”. The recade was a staff or ceremonial banner made of wood and metal that replaced and represented the king. Only high leaders and diplomats had the right to wear it on their missions away from the Abomey palace. The recades usually came adorned with a royal symbol or the king's totem animal.
The recade that we present in Black Market is a wooden cane in the shape of a pipe from whose "bowl" emerges a bronze chameleon; Meanwhile, another smaller chameleon climbs up the staff. Three brass bolsters line between the tip and the small chameleon.
The chameleon was the symbol of Huesu Akaba, the patient king of the Dahomeyan dynasty, whose motto read: "slowly, gently, the chameleon reaches the highest branch of the iroko tree."

Length: 65.0 cm; Maximum width: 26.0 cm; Weight: 2.97 Kg