Physical description/0description Catalogue card for 1950.266 A-B notes 'Two female heads, apparently tusk-holders, with many-stringed necklaces, of bronze.'
Amendments - updates/0notes Bequeathed by Frederick William Green (1869-1949), Honorary Keeper of Antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge from 1908 to 1949. There is no documentation on Green's acquisition but it is typical of the ‘bronzes’ looted as part of the Benin Expedition 1897.
Some objects retain the white sale numbers which can be connected to the sales of dealer William Webster. Webster has therefore been added to the source field where known with queries to indicate the lack of available data for a definite provenance
Catalogue to the exhibition: Ebin, V. and Swallow, D. A. (1984) The Proper Study of Mankind: Great Anthropological Collections in Cambridge. Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Related Documents/0bibliography Catalogue card reads, in blue ink: "50.266 A/B | Africa | Nigeria / Two female heads, apparently tusk-holders, with many-stringed necklaces, of bronze / A. 9 ins high. / B. 8 [ins high]. / Benin. / F.W. Green bequest."
In second hand, blue ink: [below "Benin"] "Note: W.B. Fagg says that these are a local style, from UDO, + may not be female."
In third hand, black ink: [beside measurements for A] "[Exchanged with British Museum]"
In fourth hand, black ink at bottom of card: "-Centenary Exhibition"
Two circular red stickers, on top right and bottom left of card.
In January 2017, Prof. Marcos Martinon-Torres and Agnese Benzonelli, UCL Institute of Archaeology, tested this idno using a portable XRF as part of a programme of base metal analysis of Benin material. This object was tested twice and the results are as follows: 1) Cu: 88.83%; Zn: 3.82%; Sn: 3.49%; Pb: 2.36%. 2) Cu: 88.42%; Zn: 3.72%; Sn: 3.50%; Pb: 2.81%. It was noted as Dark 6, Willett 3 but a low Zn reading and a high Sn reading may be Willett 2.
According to Willett this would date to 15th-16th century but according to Riederer this would probably date to the end of the 16th century.
Part of MAA's Centenary Exhibition, held in the Adeane gallery, at the Fitzwilliam Museum, 12 March- 6 May 1984, and the Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Norwich, 2 July- 16 September 1984.
Catalogue card for 1950.266 A-B notes "W.B. Fagg says that these are a local style, from UDO, and may not be female".