Physical descriptiondescription Breech-loading cannon or swivel gun; cast in one piece in bronze. Includes integral powder chamber holder and trunnions. Breech chamber is missing. Muzzle has simple decorative mouldings; barrel bears in low relief the royal arms of Portugal, an armillary sphere badge, and a cipher with the name of the Portuguese founder. Cross-shaped mark on upper face of back of chamber holder.
Unclear how this cannon arrived in West Africa. It may have been brought by the Portuguese to fortify thier possessions in the region at the beginning of the 16th century. However it may have been left behind by Portuguese mercenaries in the Benin army. ~Armillary sphere badge was granted to future King Manuel I of Portugal in 1483 in anticipation of conquests in Africa and Asia during his regin (1495-1523). However, this badge was used on a range of artillery dating up to the 16th century. ~British and Medieval Dept. Donations Book (in Medieval and Later Dept. at 3/1998): "A bronze gun with the arms of Portugal probably made in Benin". Ethnography Department temporary Register (1861-1921), p.89. This is the "breech-loading cannon, l.164 cm." registered in error as As1975,Q.1: "Found unnumbered; Spanish-made but with Asian support; [Philippines]", subsequently identified as 1899,0610.1. (AMD,7/1997).~Article by R D Smith of Royal Armouries written in 1995 in Militaria, Madrid, pp. 197-205 explains likely origin of this cannon. This breech-loading cannon bears the royal arms of Portugal and the device of the armillary sphere which was closely associated with 16th century kings of Portugal from Manuel I onwards, and which commonly appears on later 16th century Portuguese cannon. The metal has been analysed in the BM and though not conclusive this indicated a likely Portuguese origin, compared with ingots from the wreck of the St Anthony which sank in 1527 on its way from Antwerp to Lisbon. Not typical Benin composition. Similar guns found in Portuguese wrecks off Seychelles and South Africa. Thought that this gun would have been used or traded by the Portuguese in West Africa or wrecked there, hence its provenance. ~Plankensteiner 2007 The two cannons are part of a total of four taken back from Benin by the British Benin Expeditionin 1897. The British Museum cannon belongs to the first firearms, the early breach-loading cannons introduced to the Benin by the Portugese about the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century. This breech-loading swivel gun is cast in one piece, including powder chamber holder and trunnions (the breech chamber is missing) (Roese and Smith 2000: 88). At the muzzle of the cannon are a series of simple decorative mouldings and the barrel flares slightly and ends with a plain tubular ring. On the barrel the royal arms of Portugal, a raised armillary sphere badge and a cipher showing the name of the founder of the barrel are found (Roese and Smith 2000: 89). It is a cross-shaped mark on the top face of the rear of the chamber holder. The cannon was taken away from the front of the Oba's Palace in Benin City in 1897 after the fall of Benin to the British. Sir Ralph Moor, Consul General of the Niger Coast Protectorate, donated it to the British Museum in 1899. It has been made in Goa probably between 1495 and 1523. The cannon of Benin manufacture is a breech-loading gun with tillerm the breech chamber is missing and the barrel is burst near the muzzle. A small human face on the rear in Benin style clearly indicates its Benin origins. The barrel was cast and was manufactured by the metal-workers of Benin City for use with other weapons of war. Cannons were produced in large quantities in 19th century Yoruba wars. The local manufacture of cannons lay in the hands of the guild of Bronze casters Igun Eronmwon. The guild is affiliated to the Iwebo palace society. None of the local cannons was made of iron. According to Benin traditions cannons were used in expansion wars already in the early 16th century and cannon firing seemed to have had a decisive impact on the victory over the Igala (Roese and Smith 2000). On several relief plaques Portuguese are holding a slow match pike, identifying them as cannoniers. During Ob Esigies reign (c.1540-1550) the group of the Iwoki was formed as a guild taking care for cannons and guns, who might have been involved in their production as well.
Exhibitions Loans and Displays - Current and Pastexhibition history Exhibited: 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa 2007 May-Sept, Vienna, Museum für Völkerkunde, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria 2007-2008 Oct-Jan, Paris, Musée du quai Branly, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria 2008 Feb-May, Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria