John Lembcke (1873-?) originally came from Mecklenburg and was a Hamburg merchant. He worked as an agent for the trading company L. Pagenstecher & Co. in southern Nigeria. The company maintained several branches in Cameroon and Nigeria and traded raw rubber, among other things.Lembcke was probably employed at a branch of the firm in Warri, from where he went to nearby Benin City. There, he found objects which he eventually brought to Hamburg. Between 1899 and 1905, he sold 40 objects from the Kingdom of Benin to the museum.
Gedenkkopf
Unbekannter Künstler der Bronzegießergilde Igun Eronmwon / Königreich Benin, Nigeria, 18/19. Jh. / Terrakotta / Ankauf von John Lembcke, 1901, Inv. Nr. C 2910
Terrakotta-Köpfe sollen bereits unter der Herrschaft der Ogiso, der ersten Königsdynastie Benins, verwendet worden sein. Heute finden sich solche Köpfe ausschließlich auf dem Ahnenschrein der Bronzegießergilde und werden auch von deren Mitgliedern hergestellt. Der Schrein ist Igueghae geweiht, dem mythischen Ahnherrn der Gießer.
Label Text (eng)
Commemorative Head
Unidentified artist of the Bronze Casters Guild Igun Eronmwon / Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, 18th/19th century / Terracotta / Acquired from John Lembcke, 1901, Inv. no. C 2910
Terracotta heads are said to have already been used during
the reign of the Ogiso, the first royal dynasty in Benin. Today, such heads are found exclusively on the ancestral shrine of the Bronze Casters Guild and are
also created by its members. The shrine is dedicated to Igueghae, the mythical ancestral forefather of the casters.