Associatie/beschrijving (online getoond)description Het object bestaat uit het onderste gedeelte van een bewerkte olifantsslagtand. De top van de tand is afgezaagd. Er zijn twee rijen figuren op te zien. De centrale figuur van de bovenste rij is een Oba, herkenbaar aan de dubbele gekruisde banden over de b
Verzamelgeschiedenis (toelichting)provenance 'The Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh donated an elephant’s tusk (TM-2289-3) to the Tropenmuseum on 16 November 1953. This gift was listed in the acquisition register of 18 November 1953 together with two others: TM-2289-1 and TM-2289-2 (AQR-A 1948-1954: TM-1832-*to TM-2386-*). The description intriguingly states: ‘Via Dr Jager Gerlings during visit to England. Personally transported luggage, airplane.’ (Translated from Dutch: ‘Via Dr Jager Gerlings tijdens bezoek Engeland. Persoonlijk medegebracht bagage, vliegtuig’ (AQR-A: NLHaNA-KIT-7881). The British connection together with the number 26033 at the bottom makes a connection to the Wellcome collection the most likely explanation, as existing registers in Edinburgh do not provide any further clarification. Batches of this large and diverse collection came into the Royal Scottish Museum in different years including 1949 and 1953, not all of which were accessioned into the permanent collection. Several Wellcome collections objects in the British Museum have similarly high numbers (see for example The British Museum 2020a, b). At the time of acquisition, the tusk was already damaged and the Dutch inventory card states: ‘The tusk is discoloured on one side probably during the fire in 1897.’ (Translated from Dutch: ‘De slagtand is aan één zijde waarschijnlijk tijdens de brand van 1897 door vuur verkleurd’ (TM-2289-3: inventory card).'
(Excerpt from Provenance no. 2 'The Benin Collections at the National Museum of World Cultures written by Rosalie Hans with Annette Schmidt, 21-01-2021).
Information in addition to report published in March 2021 as Provenance #2, Benin.
Wellcome accession register
While researching Magdala I discovered that the original Wellcome number of this piece in a Wellcome accession register online: https://wellcomecollection.org/works/g5bpkwcm/items.
The number is 26033 which can be found at the bottom of the object. The assumption was made in the report that this must be a Wellcome number but the description in the accession register confirms this:
Figure 1: Museum accessions Vol. 4:13001-18000
Figure 2: Museum accessions Vol 4: 13001-18000
The line starting with ‘Privately […]’ is the one corresponding with 26033 and further confirms the identity of the tusk because we know it is damaged.
The full pages can be found in the folder Rosalie Hans documenten > Benin > TM-2289-3_2021 info.
Wellcome documentation: P.S & N.15/X/1925 Lot 278
I was unable to find correspondence related to the code mentioned in the accession register so I contacted the Wellcome Library (library@wellcomecollection.org) and received an extensive reply. Due to time constraints I am copying the information below. The email was written by librarian Nicola Cook (collections@wellcomecollection.org) on 10 August 2021:
‘In addition to the museum accession register you identified, there is also a corresponding inventory index card: https://wellcomecollection.org/works/fv79c2rr/items?canvas=147. The information is very similar, but the part which you reference as “P.S […] N./278/15.X.1925” is more clearly type-written here. Essentially, what “P.S & N.15/X/1925 Lot 278” this represents is that the item was “privately” purchased from the auction house Philips, Son & Neale on 15 Oct 1925, and the lot number is 278. The sales catalogue is currently being digitised but eventually it will be available to view online here: https://wellcomecollection.org/works/kh3fx5d8. I’ve managed to track down the sales catalogue with our digitisation team and attach some photos of the front cover and the lot for them item for now.
I’ve also liaised with our super knowledgeable colleague Ruth Horry about what the term “privately purchased” might have meant, particularly in relation to Henry Wellcome’s purchasing strategies. One meaning of “privately purchased” usually refers to a private sale held by the auction house. So rather than a public auction sale, the auction house effectively acts like an intermediary dealer and the seller and selling price remain private. Given that this item is listed as a specific lot in the Phillips, Son & Neale catalogue, it could be that it never made it to the public saleroom – but we can’t confirm this though, it’s just an assumption.
Ruth has also deciphered the annotations on the sales catalogue for me and I’ll do my best to explain what some of it means:
On the front cover of the sales catalogue:
‘Stow original’, means it’s the original copy annotated by Mr Stow who was doing the purchasing.
The ‘[W] draft … lot 278’ is an indicator that it was likely bought for Henry Wellcome’s private collection (this could be the other meaning to the “privately purchased” annotations on the accession registers etc.). However, the [W] doesn’t appear anywhere other than the sales catalogue (the inventory index card states H.M.M. which is the museum) so it’s possible that it was purchased for Wellcome’s private collection originally, and eventually moved to the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum before later being dispersed.
Inside the sales catalogue:
“Special Carved tusk | Carved ivory – negotiate” [in blue crayon]. The style, and handwriting of this makes us think this bit might be written by Henry Wellcome himself.
“30/-“ [price is circled]
“4/15/- Brought away” [referring to the printed text in the lot description: ‘and a carved tusk’.]
The note ‘brought away’ is a bit puzzling. We’re not sure if the tusk was taken away rather than waiting to be shipped, or if it was part of the main sale or removed separately because it didn’t make it to the public sale.’
The auction catalogue images show that the sale at Phillips, Son & Neale’s took place on 15 October, 1925. It was a private sale for ‘The Property of a Gentleman, removed from Hendon’. The auction lots consist of household items and furniture including lot 278 which contains furniture and ‘a carved tusk’. As transcribed and explained by Nicola Cook, the handwriting seems to be by Wellcome himself.
Figure 3: Detail of sales catalogue Phillips, Son and Neale's_15-10-1925, WA/HMM/CM/Sal/15/290
The sales catalogue suggests that the tusk belonged to a private individual living near Hendon but no further information is given and Alexandra Eveleigh, Collections Information Manager of the Wellcome Collection (a.eveleigh@wellcome.org) confirmed on 12 August 2021 that it may be difficult to find further information about the seller:
‘The sales catalogues are very frustrating in the paucity of the information typically recorded about the vendors of items. In this case I would need to peek underneath the pasted in sheet on the back of the front cover to be certain, but since 278 appears to have been an early lot in the sale on 15 October, I think its most likely that lot 278 was also from the ‘gentleman, removed from Hendon’. From other Benin objects’ research, I am discovering that it might occasionally be possible to make a connection to a named individual via what is known about other objects purchased in the same sale, though this is rare. I am hoping that this is something that might become more feasible though as our transcription project proceeds, as it becomes easier to compare Wellcome’s purchases from the same sale.’
New information not yet in Provenance #2
It is now confirmed that TM-2289-3 was indeed in the Wellcome collection and was bought from a private individual at an auction in London on 15 October 1925. The purchase was probably made by Henry Wellcome himself.
Further possible conclusions
It is interesting that neither the sales catalogue nor the Wellcome accession register identifies the tusk as a Benin piece though from its characteristics this seems obvious and the Royal Scottish Museum indeed identified it as such.
The year 1925, 28 years after the military campaign against Benin City, may indicate that the previous owner was a military person related to the campaign who passed away. The fact that the tusk was combined in one lot with other household items further confirms this assumption.
1) Wingert, P.S., The Sculptures of Africa.
2) Luschan, F. von, Alterthümer von Benin.
3) Marquart, J. Die Benin Sammlung des Reichsmuseums für Völkerkunde in Leiden
Publicaties over het objectbibliography For more information about the provenance, see <a href="https://issuu.com/tropenmuseum/docs/2021_provenance_2__benin__e-book" target="_blank"> Provenance #2 – the Benin collections at the National Museum of World Cultures </a> (NB: Issuu uses cookies).<BR>
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