Cow hide Fan
A circular shape fan made of cow hide with the brown and white hair left on. The decoration is made of red woollen trade cloth sewn on with hide thongs. The fan has a wooden hide-covered handle with carving at one end.
The fan acquired during the Benin expeditionof 1897 by Engineer Rear-Admiral G.W. Baldwin (1871-1955).
A similar fan with a Benin expeditionprovenance is shown in 'The Illustrated London News' 10 April 1897, and was given to the Horniman Museum. There are other examples in the Fowler Museum, UCLA and The British Museum.