Af,A154.11

EPF11212

King & Waterfield 2006:

Benin Bronzes and Ivories (Series)

photographic print (black and white)~album

paper

photographic process

Photograph (black and white); mounted on card, part of a bound album. View of carved wooden panel (top of seat?) depicting figure of Oba (king) with mudfish legs and holding swords aloft flanked by other figrues. Photographic process.

Height: 24.00 cm (page)~Width: 27.40 cm (page)

Portuguese

Previous owner/ex-collection: William Downing Webster

1898-1899 (circa)

Photographed in: London

Associated with: Edo

Associated with: Benin City

Associated Event: British Expedition to Benin City - 1897

Inscription:~ Inscription details: inscription (front of mount; below photograph) in English~ Inscription quoted: Carved wood table top £7.0.0. sold to Basel Museum. Switzerland.~ Inscription note: Handwritten in black ink. Description of object from the Kingdom of Benin, with indicative purchase price and name of vendor.

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 carved wood panel depicted in this photograph iwas sold by William Webster in 1899 to the Museum der Kulturen Basel. Accession number: 99-6. This page of the album also includes photographs Af,A154.8 & 9 (top row) and 11 & 12 (bottom row).

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/EA_Af-A154-11