Research Notes: The Dumas-Egerton Collection, of which this is part, was examined by Hermione Waterfield of Christie's in May 1984; see 'Part of the Nigerian Art Collected by Admiral Sir George Le Cler[c] Egerton on the Benin Expeditionof 1897 on Deposit at Maidstone Museum' (copy in RDF). The entry for this object reads: 'The base of a Benin stemmed box, carved from five ivory sections, of hemispherical form with cylindrical stem and circular base, grooved for copper and bronze inlay much of which remains, decorated with two figures and two birds on the stem, the underside of the bowl with heads flanking star and squared strapwork motifs, four hands between, the base with four roundels of squared strapwork, interlaced borders. 7 3/4 in. high, 10 in. diam.' [JC 23/1/2002]
Examined by Benin specialist Barbara Blackmun in July 1991. According to Blackmun, this bowl would have had a lid, and may have been used for divination. [LMM 7 1991 ?; JC 9 7 2000]