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Subjects

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Depictions of pages with fans can be found on many relief panels depicting the king, dignitaries or high-ranking military officers. During ceremonies in which these people appeared in elaborate robes with heavy jewellery, fans primarily had a practical function, but they were also used for ritual purposes: Court dwarves prayed over a fan for the welfare of the king; medicine blown over a fan could weaken an opponent. Fans were usually made from dried skin. Fans made of brass were reserved for the king.

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Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Subjects
Dimensions
Weight: 1,3 kg
Height: 48,6 cm
Depth: 4 cm
Width: 37 cm
Material/Technique
Brass, Iron
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8504

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    18th century-19th century.
    where
    Nigeria
    Benin
  • Collecting
    who
    Heinrich Bey - Collectors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    18th century - 19th century, commissioned by the Igun Eronmwon or guild of brass casters in the Kingdom of Benin; ownership before 1897 currently unknown; probably 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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