Digital Benin Research
British Museum
institution
W. D. Webster photograph album
archival unit
Photograph Album
document type
1898-01-01/1899-12-31
date
specific objects
Ikpakohen open in Ẹyo Otọ
Ewua open in Ẹyo Otọ
edo designations
Webster, William Downing
source
target
Museum für Völkerkunde, Dresden
mention
Institutional metadata
Reg No.
Af,A154.2
PRN
EPF11203
Add ID/s
Bibliography
King & Waterfield 2006:
Title/s
Benin Bronzes and Ivories (Series)
Object Name/s
photographic print (black and white)~album
Material/s
paper
Technique/s
photographic process
Description (full)
Photograph (black and white); mounted on card, part of a bound album. View of two standing figures, facing front. Figure at right proper wears cross on chest and has cat whisker marks on face. Figure at left proper plays horn and wears domed helmet. Photographic process.
Dimension/s
Height: 24.00 cm (page)~Width: 27.40 cm (page)
Subject/s
musician
Previous Owner
Previous owner/ex-collection: William Downing Webster
Date/s
1898-1899 (circa)
Prod. Place/s
Photographed in: London
Assoc. Ethnic Name/s
Associated with: Edo
Assoc. Place/s
Associated with: Benin City
Assoc. Event/s
Associated Event: British Expedition to Benin City - 1897
Inscription/s
Inscription:~ Inscription details: inscription (front of mount; below right and left figures) in English~ Inscription quoted: Right: 'Bronze figure. £55.0.0 sold to Dresden Museum.' Left: 'Bronze figure, £45.0.0 sold to Dresden Museum.'~ Inscription note: Handwritten in black ink. Depicts two cast brass figures from the Kingdom of Benin sold by William D. Webster to Dresden Museum with purchase prices. ~Inscription:~ Inscription details: lettering (left proper corner of card mount) in English~ Inscription quoted: B~ Inscription note: Marked in pencil.
Curator's Comment/s
This album contains photographs of objects from the Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria sold by the London-based dealer, William Downing Webster. Many of the photographs are annotated with information relating to the vendor/s and some include purchase prices. It is likely that the photographic series was compiled by Webster in the early 1900s. The figures depicted in this photograph were sold by William Webster as follows: left proper: to Arthur Baessler in 1899. Donated by Baessler in the same year to State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony - Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden. Accession number: 16148. right proper: to Arthur Baessler in 1899. Donated by Baessler in the same year to State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony - Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden. Accession number: 16147. This page of the album also includes photograph Af,A154.3 (left proper).
URL
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/EA_Af-A154-2