Catalogue card notes: "Bronze or brass bell with beaded band-loop handle, quadrangular with beaded edges, diaper ground etc bearing on the front in relief a grotesque mask."
Bronze or brass bell with beaded band-loop handle, quadrangular with beaded edges, diaper ground etc bearing on the front in relief a grotesque mask. Three large and several smaller holes in metal.
Given Webster's acquisition of much of the spoils of the Benin West Africa 1897 Expedition and the early date of 1902-3, it is likely his personal donation of Benin material was also collected on the 1897 Punitive Expedition This has therefore been added to the source field with queries to indicate the lack of available data for a definite provenance.
The note created during transcription of the catalogue card in 2001 added that it was unclear if 'Edo is the province or language group, and whether Benin refers to the city of Benin'. The Register noted only 'Benin, West Africa'. As the catalogue card was written before the creation of Edo State in 1991, 'Edo' would have referred to the Edo people and has been removed from the place field.
The narrow term 'Benin' has been used within the museum and more widely to refer to the both Benin City as well as the Kingdom of Benin and both terms have therefore been added to the place field in brackets to show the original provenance e.g., 'Benin [?Kingdom of Benin; ?Benin City].
Catalogue card reads, in blue biro: "1902 E.434 | AFRICA | WEST AFRICA / NIGERIA / Bronze or brass BELL with beaded band-loop handle, quadrangular with beaded edges diaper ground etc bearing on the front in relief a grotesque mask (6.4" x 3.9") / Benin W. Africa / Mr W.D. Webster. | R 1903 241"
Red circular sticker in bottom right corner 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: 75.15%; Zn: 23.14%; Sn: 0.05%; Pb: 1.32%. 2) Cu: 75.15%; Zn: 23.16%; Sn: 0.07%; Pb: 1.30%. It was noted that bells vary in composition and bar a few exceptions date to 1800+. Riederer alloy H2 probably dates this to the second half of the 19th century.