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Benin bronze, standing man with sword

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This figure possibly stood on an ancestral altar. It shows a religious dignitary with the ceremonial sword "eben", with which during the ceremonies in honor of the ancestors was danced in front of their altar. At the ritual climax, the memorial heads of the ancestors were touched with "eben" to establish a connection with them. Text: Dietmar Neitzke.

Data Provider
Linden-Museum Stuttgart Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Edo
Object type
Figur
Dimensions
Width: 6.9 cm
Height: 21.9 cm
Material/Technique
Copper alloy Lost wax process
Current location
Linden-Museum Stuttgart
Inventory number
035456

Provenance and sources

  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Ziemann; 0630
  • Change of physical control or legal title
    where
    Nigeria
Provenance
Staff physician Dr Bludau arranged contact with Ziemann for the museum. The latter visited Old Calabar and acquired the plate from the King of Benin, Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, who had been imprisoned there by the English. It is said to be one of the few objects that the king was able to save during the storming of Benin and take with him when he fled. The king donated the plate to Ziemann in October 1902. Text: Markus Himmelsbach.

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED

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