Ughegbe (mirrors) are encased in carved wooden frames with a sliding wooden panel that would cover the glass when not in use. The wooden frame was carved by members of the Igbesanmwan, while the glass for the mirror would have been one of the goods traded to Benin by European merchants. Ughegbe were used mainly by priests and are viewed as portals to see beyond the physical world. They would be covered when not in use to prevent entities from the spiritual world entering the physical world where they do not belong.

In Edo culture, Ughegbe are not just everyday objects used to check one’s appearance, but they are spiritually and symbolically potent objects. As Blackmun (1984, p.309

) wrote, ‘in present-day Benin, Ughegbe are used by those who want to see spirits or deities. … Mirrors are intimately connected with the worship of Olokun’. Mirrors may have been used during some ceremonies, as seen depicted in some carved-ivory altar tusks and cast altar tableaux (Blackmun, 1984, p.306-311

Ughegbe

Mirror

Germany

Website

Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt am Main

Internal Data (eng)

Internal Data (ger)

Wikidata Link

Oldman, William Ockelford 

Dealer

Collector

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western-art

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hofzwerg

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British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897

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