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Ada

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Ada swords, which are also found on a number of relief panels, could not only have ceremonial significance, but were also weapons. The royal ada sword was an insignia of his power and spiritual strength. The sword shown here has a handle that is covered with sheet brass and wrapped in brass wire. The end of the handle is shaped like a human head, perhaps that of a Portuguese. It probably came from the possession of a high dignitary.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Sword (Sword)
Dimensions
Weight: 1.175 g
Height: 82 cm
Width: 19 cm
Depth: 4 cm
Length: 14 cm
Material/Technique
Brass, Iron, Wood
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 7619

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    18th century-19th century.
    where
    Nigeria
  • Collecting
    who
    Fenton & Sons - Antiquities, Armour - Former Possessors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    Commissioned in the Kingdom of Benin before 1897; ownership before 1897 currently unknown; probably looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; owned by Fenton & Sons until 1998; sold to the Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde 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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