Knife for ceremonies, handed down in one family , iron, ornamented
[different hand] Label on knife states: "Knife for ceremonies (Ebe) 200 years old handed down in one family for king only. Iron with brass ornaments."
Label on knife states: 'Knife for ceremonies (Ebe) 200 years old handed down in one family for king only. Iron with brass ornaments.'. This label was seen on an unknown date by an unknown source and has been transcribed from the old database Description field.
A hand written label reads 'Ornamental knife (ebe) 200 years old; handed down in one family ?[only] king. covered [illegible] this with brass ornaments. Bini.', and '53' has been circled in the top left hand corner. This has been stapled to a more recent label which reads 'Z.12061 W. AFRICA S. NIGERIA BINI'.
Thomas label adhered to blade reads: '2271 | 53 / Knife for ceremonies (ebe); 200 years old; handed down in one family; for king only; iron with brass ornaments. / Bini'
According to Prof. Paul Basu, SOAS, in an email send to Chris Wingfield on 30 March 2017, following the opening of a Benin display including this object, it "was included in an initial shipment of objects that Thomas sent to the British Museum in April 1909. In the archive of the British Museum's Prehistory & Europe Department there are packing lists with prices paid (for which Thomas was seeking reimbursement) and the ‘ceremonial sword’, item 53, is listed as costing 50/- (or £2-10s). At the end of a letter to T. A. Joyce dated 5 April 1909, Thomas writes ‘I forget whether I mentioned on the label that the ceremonial sword I sent dates from time of Akenza’. Elsewhere in the letter Thomas mentions that some of the objects were ‘rather dear, but prices are up in Benin City’."
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 three times on a rivet and two separate ornamental appliques. The results are as follows: Rivet 1) Cu: 94.70%; Zn: 4.46%; Pb: 0.36%. Brass applique 1) Cu: 65.78%; Zn: 31.95%; Pb: 1.87%. Brass applique 2) Cu: 63.93%; Zn: 32.53%; Pb: 3.13%. It was noted that the rivet is copper and the traces of Zn derive from the surrounding brass matrix. Regarding the two brass appliques, a Zn reading of >30 and low impurities mean a date of 1800+ and probably 1850+ for the repairs.
Analysis/1
Archaeology
RES.2017.2305 | To XRF Benin material that will go on display in the Andrews Gallery in March 2017.