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Bird's claw

The claw is a preserved fragment of such a large bird figurine from one of the spires of the Benin Palace.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Plastic
Dimensions
Weight: 4,3 kg
Height: 39,1 cm
Depth: 12 cm
Width: 11,4 cm
Material/Technique
Brass, Wood, copper alloy, wood
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8501

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    16th century - 17th century
    where
    Nigeria
    Benin
  • Collecting
    who
    Heinrich Bey - Collectors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    16th century - 17th century, commissioned by the Igun Eronmwon or guild of brass casters in the Kingdom of Benin; probably used as a roof ornament for the royal palace until 1897; 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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