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Bird

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According to oral tradition, a bird prophesied the defeat of Benin's army to King Esigie (early 16th century) during the war against the Igala. Esigie shot the bird, defeated the Igala army and captured their king, Attah of Idah, who became a vassal of Benin. As a reminder of this false prophecy and of Benin's victory over the Igala, Esigie ordered the casting of bars with bird figures, which are sounded at the annual Ugie Oro ceremony. The bird of divination can also be found on relief panels or as a small ivory carving, and the species of bird cannot be precisely determined; it could be an ibis, an osprey or a cattle egret.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Relief plaque
Dimensions
Height: 49,1 cm
Depth: 5,5 cm
Width: 32 cm
Weight: 10,55 kg
Material/Technique
Brass, copper alloy
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8427

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    16th century
    where
    Nigeria
  • Collecting
    who
    Heinrich Bey - Collectors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    16th cent, commissioned by Oba Esigie (r. 1517-1550) or his son Oba Orhogbua (r. 1550-1570), Royal Palace, Benin City; by inheritance to Oba Ovonramwen (ca. 1857-1914; r. 1888-97), Royal Palace, Benin City; looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; in unknown possession after the conquest of the Kingdom of Benin; collected on behalf of the firm Bey & Co, between 1897 and 1898 in the territory of later colonial Nigeria; sold to the Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin, 1899.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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