Fritz Lüttge was active as a representative of the Hamburg trading company Bey & Zimmer in Sapele, West Africa. Lüttige had become aware of the business with works of art from the Kingdom of Benin through Friedrich Erdmann. In 1901 Lüttige sold three Benin objects to the museum. Later his widow also sold objects, which had been part of her husband’s collection.
Manilla
Königreich Benin, Nigeria, 17. Jh. / Kupfer / Ankauf von Fritz Lüttge, 1901, Inv. Nr. C 2936
Vom späten 15. bis zum frühen
18. Jh. waren hufeisenförmige Manillas aus Kupfer, Bronze und Messing wichtigstes Tauschmittel europäischer Kaufleute. Durch den Sklaven und Elfenbeinhandel gelangten mehrere Millionen dieser „Geldringe“ nach Benin. Den Gelbgießern in Benin dienten sie als Materialgrundlage und ermöglichten eine Blüte der höfischen Gießkunst.
Label Text (eng)
Manilla
Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, 17th century / Copper / Acquired from Fritz Lüttge in 1901, Inv. no. C 2936
From the late 15th to the early 18th century, horseshoe-shaped manillas made of copper, bronze and brass were the most important means of exchange for European merchants. The slave and ivory trade brought several millions of these “money rings” to Benin. They served the bronze casters in Benin as raw material and thus enabled the flourishing of bronze art for the court.