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Elephant tusk in relief from a royal memorial altar

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However, their pictorial programme did not disappear when the relief panels were taken down and stored at the end of the 17th century: many motifs from the panels can be found in the 18th century on the carved elephant teeth that were placed on the altars on the new, larger memorial heads that served as their base. In contrast to the relief panels, the depictions of warrior kings, especially Esigies, occupy a large part of the ivory carvings. While the relief panels were used to depict the Benin cosmos, the depictions of the warrior kings on the elephant tusks stand for the legitimisation of the reinvigorated kingship of the 18th century, which in its political power, but also in its artistic expressions, refers to the powerful kings of the 16th century. At the same time, a series of new motifs can be found on the carved teeth that refer to King Esigie or the spiritual power of the king, which had been emphasised since the 18th century.

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Cataloguing data

Object type
Elephant tusk (Ivory tusk)
Dimensions
Length: 201 cm
Height: 180 cm
Width: 15 cm
Depth: 45 cm
Weight: 25,6 kg
45 cm
175 cm
Material/Technique
Ivory
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 7640

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    18th cent.
    where
    Nigeria
  • Collecting
    who
    Hale & Son - Former Possessors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    Royal commission to the Guild of Ivory Carvers in the Benin Kingdom in the 18th century, presumably as part of a royal memorial altar; by inheritance to Oba Ovonramwen (ca. 1857-1914; reigned 1888-97), Royal Palace, Benin City; looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; auctioned by the firm of Hale & Son, 1897; purchased at auction by the Royal Museum of Ethnology, 1897.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED

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