This collection item does not have a name in the language of origin. If you know the name or have comments, use this form to contact the data-providing institution.

Cock

Contact the institution

Sculptures of roosters stood on the altars of the king and the queen mother. Roosters were common offerings in Benin. At the same time, they also symbolised the role of the mother of the heir to the throne (Edaiken). "The cock that crows the loudest" was a designation of the king's main wife, the mother of the heir to the throne and the potential queen mother. The influence of these women on Benin's politics is thus given an image in the rooster that emphasises their position of power.

This content was machine-translated
Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Plastic
Dimensions
Height: 45 cm
Depth: 19 cm
Width: 46 cm
Weight: 13,9 kg
Material/Technique
Brass
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8085

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    18th cent.
    where
    Nigeria
  • Collecting
    who
    Eduard Schmidt - Collectors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    18th century, commissioned by the Igun Eronmwon or guild of brass casters in the Kingdom of Benin; ownership before 1897 currently unknown; 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.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
This content was machine-translated
Version: 2.5 / 7.5