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Rooster (Opa or rooster)

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Sculptures of roosters stood on the altars of the king and the queen mother. Roosters were common offerings in Benin. At the same time, they also symbolised the role of the mother of the heir to the throne (Edaiken). "The cock that crows the loudest" was a designation of the king's main wife, the mother of the heir to the throne and the potential queen mother. The influence of these women on Benin's politics is thus given an image in the rooster that emphasises their position of power.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Sculpture (Sculpture)
Dimensions
Weight: 17,5 kg
Height: 46 cm
Width: 19 cm
Depth: 45 cm
Material/Technique
Brass
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 7616

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    17th century-19th century.
    where
    Nigeria
  • Collecting
    who
    Eva Webster (geb. Cutter) - Former Possessors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    17th-19th century, commissioned by the Igun Eronmwon or Guild of Brass Moulders in the Kingdom of Benin; ownership before 1897 currently unknown; probably looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; owned around 1898 by the ethnographic dealer Eva Cutter, who married the dealer William D. Webster; sold to the Royal Museum of Ethnography in Berlin, 1898.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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