Catalogue card reads: "Three small ancient shield shaped pendents (imperfect) of bronze, bearing standing human figures in relief. Two male (one with helmet) and one female, (head missing)."
Added in different handwriting " E 1905.538 represents a woman."
The numbers '11715' and '11706' have both been written on the back of the object. The number '668' is a Webster lot number and has been written on the label.
E 1905.538
MAA: AR 1905.546
Other: 11706 [Webster Coll]; 1715 [?Webster Coll.]; 688 [Webster Sale number; on object label]; 668 [Webster lot number; written on label]
Catalogue card reads, in black biro: "1905 E 536-538 | AFRICA | WEST AFRICA / NIGERIA / Three small ancient shield-shaped PENDANTS (imperfect) of bronze, bearing standing human figures in relief: Two male (one with helmet) and one female (head missing). / Benin / Purchased / Webster's Sale 1904. | R. 1906.544-546."
In second hand, blue biro: "1905 E 536. represent a warrior wearing a helmet. / 1905 E 537 represents a pot-bellied figure holding a [diagram]-shaped object (drum?) / 1905 E 378 represents a woman."
Red circular sticker in bottom right of card.
When this object was prepared for XRF analysis in January 2017 by Marcos Martinon-Torres, he noticed an existing drill hole, which appears to have been made to remove material for analysis. No record of the results of this analysis are in the database.
Analysis/1
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.
Archaeology
Auction - Sale/0
Catalogue card reads "Purchased Webster Sale 1904"
Auction - Sale/1
Purchased from William Downing Webster's sale at J.C. Stevens, King Street, Covent Garden, on Wednesday 30 November 1904, lot 668.
CMS Context/0
CMS Description
Catalogue
Display/0
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Field_collection/0
Edo' is both a language and cultural group but the catalogue card is presumed to have been using the term 'Edo as a cultural group. The term 'Benin' has been removed from the cultural group field.
Today Benin City is the capital of Edo State and so 'Edo State' has been used in the place field.
Replacement catalogue gives the provenance only as 'Benin' and places it within Nigeria, referencing the Kingdom of Benin. There is no mention of Benin City and thus the provenance of Benin City has been retained but queried. However the figures on E 1905.536-8 are all similar to those used on hip pendents that were seized in the looting of Benin City in 1897 and Webster is a known dealer in these items. It is likely they were acquired on the 1897 Expeditionbut there is no documentation at present.