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Ooton or Osuan
The priest Osuan and his subordinate Ooton priest can be recognised by the cone-shaped headdress, which only the king and some other dignitaries were allowed to wear. The long whips (often two in the case of Ohuan) that they carry in their hands are used to ward off evil forces during sacrifices.
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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
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Cataloguing data
Object type
Relief plaque
Dimensions
Gewicht: 2,2 kg
Objektmaß: 36,5 x 17 x 6,5 cm
Objektmaß: 36,5 x 17 x 6,5 cm
Material/Technique
Brass
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8256
Provenance and sources
where
Benin [kingdom]
when
16th century
where
Nigeria [Land]
Description
16th cent, commissioned by Oba Esigie (r. 1517-1550) or his son Oba Orhogbua (r. 1550-1570), royal palace, Benin City; by inheritance to Oba Ovonramwen (ca. 1857-1914; r. 1888-97), Royal Palace, Benin City; looted in connection with the British conquest of Benin, 1897; purchased by Hans Meyer, between 1897 and 1898; donated to the Royal Museum of Ethnology in Berlin, 1899.
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