Object History Note / Acquisition Notedescription, provenance, notes During the British Expeditionto Benin City (Edo) in 1897 objects made of brass, ivory, coral and wood were looted by British soldiers from the royal palace, its storerooms and compounds. Some of these objects were sold or exchanged on the coast. However, many were brought to the UK where they were sold through private auction, donated to museums, or retained by soldiers of the expedition See Collection File: Af1897,1217.1-6.
Read & Dalton 1899: Human head, with the hair dressed in overlapping layers, and with a close-fitting collar of beads. On each eyebrow are four vertical cicatrices, and between these two longer vertical apertures which have been inlaid, probably with iron. The skill with which the casting has been done is remarkable, the metal being unusually thin. Note- Af1897,1217.1,2 and 3 are not made of iron as stated in The Studio, Vol XV., p. 178, December 1898; Int. Archiv für Ethnographie, Vol. XI. (1898),p 237, but of bronze, like No. 4.
Exhibitions Loans and Displays - Current and Pastexhibition history Exhibited: 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa 2000-2001 Dec-Feb, BM, Human Image 2003 Oct, Japan, Setagaya Art Museum, Art and Memory 2003 18 Oct-14 Dec, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2004 17 Jan-28 Mar, Kobe City Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2004 10 Apr-13 Jun, Fukuoka Art Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2004 26 Jun-29 Aug, Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2005 11 Apr-10 Jul, Seoul Arts Centre, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2005 25 Jul-8 Oct, Busan Museum, Treasures of the World's Cultures 2005 27 Oct-2006 31 Jan, Haengso Museum, Keimyung University, Daegu, Treasures of the World's Cultures