Registration Number: Af1944,04.1
Institution media
2 images
Institution data
Internal Data (eng)Internal Data (eng)
British Museum
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last Updated: 2022-08-04
Language: English
Registration NumberObject ID
Af1944,04.1
Object Name - CommentDesignation
Object Name - Object NameDesignation
commemorative head
TitleDesignation
Title translationDesignation
Title typeDesignation
Object History Note / Acquisition NoteDescription, Provenance, Notes
The piece was previously in the collection of the Cranmore Ethnographical Museum. The Cranmore Ethnographical Museum was set-up by Harry Geoffrey and Irene Marguerite Beasley in 1928. This piece was part of the donation made by Irene M. Beasley to the British Museum in 1944, when the whole Beasley collection was distributed following H. G. Beasley's death in 1939.
Physical descriptionDescription
Commemorative head; lost-wax cast in brass. In form of human head depicted wearing coral bead regalia.
MaterialMaterial
brass
Material - CommentMaterial
DimensionDimensions
H~W~X~M
Dimension commentDimensions
~~~
Dimension measurement unitDimensions
cm~cm~cm~kg
Dimension noteDimensions
Dimension valueDimensions
53.00~33.50~35.00~30.90
Dimension value endDimensions
~~~
Inscription - NoteInscriptions
Inscription - QuotedInscriptions
Inscription languageInscriptions
Inscription positionInscriptions
Inscription translationInscriptions
Inscription typeInscriptions
Production dateDate Made
19thC
Production date - CommentDate Made
Producer/Artist - AssociationProducer
Producer/Artist - NameProducer
TechniqueProduction Technique
lost-wax cast
Technique - CommentProduction Technique
Production placeProduction Place
Benin City
Production place - AssociationProduction Place
M
Production place - CommentProduction Place
Production place - Site detailsProduction Place
Previous owner - AssociationPrior Source
PO
Previous owner - CommentPrior Source
Previous owner - NamePrior Source
Beasley, Harry Geoffrey
Acquisition Funding Source NameProvenance
Acquisition Funding Source Name AssociationProvenance
Acquisition Funding Source Name CommentProvenance
Acquisition NameProvenance
Beasley, Irene Marguerite
Acquisition Name AssociationProvenance
D
Acquisition Name CommentProvenance
Excavation/Field Collection NoteProvenance
Excavator/Field collector - AssociationProvenance
Excavator/Field collector - NameProvenance
Associated event - AssociationEvent
Associated event - EventEvent
Associated placePlace Collected
Associated place - AssociationPlace Collected
Findspot - AssociationPlace Collected
F
Findspot - CommentPlace Collected
Findspot - PlacePlace Collected
Benin City
Findspot - Site detailsPlace Collected
Associated name - AssociationReign Associated Name
Associated name - CommentReign Associated Name
Associated name - NameReign Associated Name
Associated ethnic name - AssociationEthnic Attribution
Associated ethnic name - Ethnic NameEthnic Attribution
Production ethnic name - AssociationEthnic Attribution
M
Production ethnic name - CommentEthnic Attribution
Production ethnic name - Ethnic NameEthnic Attribution
Edo
Responsible departmentDepartment and Institution
E
CommentNotes
This head, typical of the late period in Benin art, shows the Oba (king) of Benin wearing elaborate neck and hand ornaments of coral. It is not a portrait of a particular Oba, but a generic royal image. The royal palace of the Edo peoples was the centre of their world and the Oba was believed to be descended from the Creator God of Benin. The king was also considered to be the counterpart, as ruler of the land, to the god Olokun, ruler of the waters. The king's wealth and power is believed to originate with the fifteenth-century Oba Ewuare, who is said to have gone to the river and brought back the coral beads and riches from Olokun's kingdom. This may, in fact, refer to the arrival of Portuguese travellers in the fifteenth century who brought coral from across the seas. Coral is of great significance to the Edo peoples, as only the Oba wears coral, in a complete costume of beadwork. They are said to contain the power of ase, that is, whatever is said with them in possession will happen. Thus they are the emblem and insignia of the king's divine status. Commemorative brass heads of deceased Obas or chiefs are placed in shrines dedicated to royal ancestors. On the top of each head is placed an ivory tusk with carved images of former kings, warrior chiefs, soldiers and animals with symbolic royal powers. P. Girshick Ben-Amos, The art of Benin (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)
Exhibitions Loans and Displays - Current and PastExhibition History
Exhibited: 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa 2007-2008 Apr-Oct, Bristol, Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Slavery, Abolition and the Making of Modern Britain
Bibliographic reference - CitationBibliography
Bibliographic reference - CommentBibliography
Bibliographic reference - ReferenceBibliography
ConditionCondition