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.
Subjects
Contact
Favorite

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.

This content was machine-translated
Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
Show only fields containing data

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

where
Benin [kingdom]
when
18th century-19th century.
where
Nigeria [Land]
Benin [Königreich]
who
Heinrich Bey - Collectors
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.

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
This content was machine-translated
2.2 / 7.2