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Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao)
Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao), possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s. Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild. Copper alloy and iron; overall: 29.9 x 21.6 x 20.4 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund 1938.6
wall_descriptiondescription Brass heads are among many objects a new Ọba commissions when dedicating a shrine to their predecessor. This head of an Ọba wears layered necklaces of royal coral beads. Tubular beads adorn both the netted cap and slender braids alongside his temples. While representing an individual, his facial features and calm expression are idealized. The thickly cast head once supported a tusk. Immune to corrosion, brass symbolizes royal permanence. A personal religious object, this head sat on an ancestral altar in the Ọba’s palace. Like many works taken from Benin altars, this contrasts with its present-day public display in an American museum.
Overall: 29.9 x 21.6 x 20.4 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/16 in.)
possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s
provenance/0/dateprovenance Possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s.
provenance/0/descriptionprovenance Commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon
provenance/1/descriptionprovenance By descent to Ọba Ovọnramwẹn (Ovọnramwẹn Nogbaisi [c. 1857–1914; r. 1888–1897], Royal Palace, Benin City
provenance/2/descriptionprovenance Brought to Europe following the Siege of Benin
provenance/3/descriptionprovenance (Fosters & Co., London or France, probably sold to Louis Carré and/or Charles Ratton)
provenance/4/descriptionprovenance (Louis Carré, Paris, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH January 17, 1938)
provenance/5/descriptionprovenance The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild
The <em>obas</em> (kings) of the Benin Kingdom still wear coral headpieces and jewelry like this sculpted head depicts.
exhibitions/current/0/descriptionexhibition history <i>The Silver Jubilee Exhibition</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
exhibitions/current/1/descriptionexhibition history <i>Exhibition of the Month: Texture in Art</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 6-December 8, 1947).
exhibitions/legacyexhibition history CMA 1937: Ivories and Bronzes from the Ancient Kingdom of Benin, Bulletin XXIV (March 1937), repr. p. 34.<br>Washington, DC, Howard University, Founders Library Art Gallery, African Art, May 1-May 31, 1953, cat. no. 33.<br>Cleveland, East Ohio Gas Company Building, "Seaway Luncheons," week of June 8, 1959.
citations/0/citationbibliography Foote, Helen S. 1938. "Two Bronzes from Benin". Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. 25: 48-50.
citations/0/page_numberbibliography mentioned p. 49; illustrated p. 48
citations/1/citationbibliography Milliken, William M. "Treasure of Ivories and Bronzes from the Ancient Kingdom of Benin." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 24, no. 3 (1937): 35-36.
citations/1/page_numberbibliography illustrated, unnumbered plate
citations/2/citationbibliography "Au Cleveland Museum of Art." <em>Mouseion. </em>(April 1938) 13-14.
citations/3/citationbibliography The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
citations/3/page_numberbibliography Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 386
citations/3/urlbibliography https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n72
citations/4/citationbibliography The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
citations/4/urlbibliography https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n327
citations/5/citationbibliography The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
citations/5/urlbibliography https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n327
citations/6/citationbibliography The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
citations/6/urlbibliography https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n431
citations/7/citationbibliography Petridis, Constantine. "A World of Great Art for Everyone." In <em>Representing Africa in American Art Museums: A Century of Collecting and Display</em>. Kathleen Bickford Berzock and Christa Clarke, 104-121. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2011.
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former_accession_numbers/0 former_accession_numbers/1 2020-11-10 10:00:23.111000