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Memorial head: with chiselled flange

Such ancestor heads were cast beginning around 1280 to commemorate deceased kings and queen mothers. This one dates from the 18th century, from this time on they were made with a flange at the base. This flange shows royal animals like catfish and leopard. Besides, also elephant trunks with hands at the end, symbolizing the "god of the hand", and triangular stone axes, representing "divine wrath". These memorial heads were located on several (in 1897 there were 13) altars, each in a courtyard of the royal residence. They were sacrificed regularly and served to venerate the royal ancestors, who after their death could still bring benefits to their people, but also send punishments. The reigning king, as the chief priest, was responsible for this ancestor worship (and thus for the spiritual well-being of his people). Text: Dietmar Neitzke.

Data Provider
Linden-Museum Stuttgart Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde
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Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Edo
Object type
Plastik
Dimensions
Durchmesser: 34 cm, Höhe: 42 cm
Material/Technique
Copper alloy
Lost wax process
Current location
Linden-Museum Stuttgart
Inventory number
005410

Provenance and sources

where
Nigeria

when
1899
Provenance
In October 1898, the Hamburg company "H. Bey & Co" offered the Berlin Ethnological Museum a Benin collection that came directly from Africa. However, due to a lack of funds, the entire collection could not be purchased and was therefore to be passed on to other interested parties. Felix von Luschan of the Berlin Museum therefore informed Karl Graf von Linden in November 1898, and offered him a right of first refusal. The Linden Museum then made 15,000 M available for the purchase of objects. The purchase price was paid by the Heilbronn entrepreneur Karl Knorr, which is why the collection became known as "Die Karl Knorr'sche Sammlung von Benin-Altertümern". Von Luschan published a detailed description of the collection under the same title (1901) on behalf of Count Linden and Knorr. Other buyers of the collection included the museums in Vienna and Munich, but also people such as Hans Meyer (Leipzig) and Eugen Rautenstrauch (Cologne). Text: Markus Himmelsbach.

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