Ẹkpẹn (leopard figures) are widely featured in Benin arts. In Benin, leopards are considered the king of the forest and as such seen as a symbol of authority. The leopard is a royal symbol of kingship because it embodies the qualities of courage, strength, ferocity and wisdom. Leopards were hunted by Iviekpen.

In Edo, leopards are described as the ‘king of the bush’, whereas the Ọba is the ‘king of the home’. Although ferocious, leopards are seen as natural leaders, as powerful animals with qualities of moderation and restraint (Ben-Amos, 1976, p.247

). Therefore, the Ọba is seen as similar to the leopard, and when depicted on objects or as objects, the leopard symbolises the Ọba. As such, the Ọba is sometimes referred to as the ‘leopard of the house’ (Vogel, 1978, p.93

Ẹkpẹn

Uru are used for pouring and storing palm wine (okhere) and other liquid substances like water.

In the Edo language, Uru is used to describe objects which could be considered jugs, ewers and aquamaniles.

Leopard Figure

Aquamaniles are brass or bronze water vessels or jugs. In Benin Kingdom, they are usually made in the shape of leopards, either standing on all fours or crouching. The leopard is an important animal in Edo belief, symbolising strength and power. Leopards are also seen as symbols of the Ọba, and the Ọba in turn is known as the ‘leopard of the house’. Although leopard aquamaniles are most common, two aquamaniles are in the form of rams. In Edo belief, the ram is a symbol of bravery, courage and aggression. These aquamaniles were used during ceremonies to store and pour water to cleanse the Ọba’s hands. It is thought that when not being used, they were stored on altars (Curnow 1997

Aquamanile

Germany

Website

Online Catalogue

Photographic collection

Museum Fünf Kontinente, Staatliche Museen in Bayern

Internal Data (ger)

Bretschneider, Ludwig

Collector

Dealer

Merx, Gerhard

Schmidt, Eduard

Diplomat

Colonial administrator

Suggestion: The word juju in itself is not harmful in as much as it refers to the belief system. It can be used in a harmful or derogatory way and is context dependent. Please assess the context of this word as a user of the platform.

 more about the background of this statement here.

juju 

Suggestion: Replace with, “a person of short stature,” “little person” or "someone with dwarfism". (See 

Read more about the background of this statement here.

dwarf

Suggestion: Replace with First Nations, First people, or particular community name. (See 

aboriginal

Suggestion: Replace with the name of the particular community and delete where it is used to reference an already identified group, e.g Igbo ~~tribe.~~

tribe

This word was redacted from the catalogue as a derogatory racialised word.

DB_redacted_word

Suggestion: Be as specific as possible in terms of country, population etc. (See 

non-western

western-art

western museum

tribal

hofzwerg

For more information on this term and its violent and inherently harmful context to indigenous communities, see 

British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897

expedition

exotic

negro

Suggestion: Replace with the word Africa.

Black Africa

Warning: This word is used in a historic context of a title for a book, exhibition, institution name or book description etc. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities.

Read more about the background of this statement here

primitive

Suggestion: Replace with traditional healer, spiritual healer, or specific name that particular communities use to define this role. (See 

medicine man

Suggestion: Replace in cases where it used to describe human beings, with the term indigenous communities, first people or particular community name.

Digital Benin linked field	Institution field	Value
object id	Inventarnr	52-7-1 b
designation	Objektbezeichnung, Titel	Aquamanile in Leopardengestalt
material	Material	Kupferlegierung mit Eiseneinlage
dimensions	Maße/Breite
dimensions	Maße/Durchmesser
dimensions	Maße/Höhe
dimensions	Maße/Länge	60 cm
dimensions	Maße/Objektmaß
dimensions	Maße/Tiefe
weight	Gewicht
date made	Datierung	17. – 19. Jh.
production place	Herkunft	Benin Reich (Historische Region) (Afrika/Nigeria)
prior source	Beteiligte Personen/SammlerIn	Schmidt, E. Konsul
prior source	Beteiligte Personen/VorbesitzerIn	Bretschneider, Ludwig; München Leibarzt von Kaiser Wilhelm II.
provenance	Provenance	vorh. 1973
accession date	Eingangsdatum	1952
accession method	Erwerbungsart / Verbleib	Kauf
license	Copyright	Museum Fünf Kontinente, Marianne Franke (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
	Beteiligte Personen/UrheberIn	Unbekannt

Ẹyo Otọ

Catalogue

Institutions

Provenance

Map

Oral History

Itan Edo

Archival Documents

Archival Institutions

Digital research tools

About the project