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Staff of office

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Emissaries of the king or dignitaries wore such brass staffs as a sign of their authority. Their lower part is flat like a blade and decorated with embossed motifs. On the upper part, the handle, there are small heads or figures.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Staff of office
Dimensions
Weight: 0,4 kg
Height: 93 cm
Width: 3,5 cm
Depth: 3,5 cm
Material/Technique
Brass
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8072 b

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    18th century-19th century.
    where
    Nigeria
  • Collecting
    who
    William Downing Webster (1868-05-11 - 1913-01-14) - Former Possessors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    Commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon brass foundry guild in the Kingdom of Benin in the 18th or 19th century; ownership before 1897 currently unknown; probably looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; in unknown possession between Feb. 1897 and 1898; acquired by the Museum of Ethnology from William D. Webster, 1898.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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