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Trophy head
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Trophy heads differ from royal memorial heads in that they lack a cap made of coral beads. Only the coral chains around the neck indicate the high rank of the sitter. They are therefore interpreted as trophy heads depicting powerful people who have been defeated.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
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Cataloguing data

Object type
Plastic
Dimensions
Height: 22 cm
Depth: 12 cm
Width: 12 cm
: cm
Weight: 4,9 kg
Material/Technique
Brass, Iron
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8170

Provenance and sources

where
Benin [kingdom]
when
18th century-19th century.
where
Nigeria [Land]
who
Eduard Schmidt - Collectors
Description
18th century - 19th century, Commissioned by the Igun Eronmwon or guild of brass casters in the Kingdom of Benin for a royal memorial altar; given by inheritance to Oba Ovonramwen (ca. 1857-1914; r. 1888-97), Royal Palace, Benin City; probably looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; in unknown possession after the conquest of the Kingdom of Benin; collected by Consul Eduard Schmidt, employee of the Woermann line, between 1897 and 1898 in the territory of later colonial Nigeria; sold to the Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin, 1898.

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Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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