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Ada

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
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Cataloguing data

Object type
Sword (Sword)
Dimensions
Gewicht: 1175 g
Höhe x Breite x Tiefe: 82 x 19 x 4 cm
Länge: 14 cm (Griff)
Material/Technique
Brass, Iron, Wood
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 7619

Provenance and sources

where
Benin [kingdom]

when
18th century-19th century.
where
Nigeria [Land]

who
Fenton & Sons - Antiquities, Armour - Former Possessors

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.

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