The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Trophy head
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.
This content was machine-translated
Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
Show only fields containing data
Cataloguing data
Object type
Plastic
Dimensions
Objektmaß: 22 x 12 x 12 cm
Wandstärke: ca. 0,5 cm
Gewicht: 4,9 kg
Wandstärke: ca. 0,5 cm
Gewicht: 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.
Information about the record
Legal status metadata
This content was machine-translated