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Leopard head

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In Beninese art, leopards symbolise the extraordinary power of the king. They were worn as belt masks by military personnel of various ranks. This not only applied to the brass masks, but probably also to the ivory leopard mask. For a long time, ivory objects were reserved exclusively for the king. However, in the 18th century, following a crisis in royalty, this privilege was extended to the ezomo and the iyase, the two senior military leaders.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Belt mask
Dimensions
Height: 20 cm
Depth: 5,5 cm
Width: 10 cm
Material/Technique
Ivory , ivory
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 12536

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    17th century-18th century.
    where
    Nigeria
    Benin
  • Collecting
    who
    Fr. Lüttge - Collectors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    19th century, commissioned in the Kingdom of Benin; ownership before 1897 currently unknown; probably looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; in unknown ownership after Feb. 1897; acquired by Mrs Lüttge, 1901.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED

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