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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.
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.
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8456
Provenance and sources
where
Benin [kingdom]
when
16th century
where
Nigeria [Land]
who
Heinrich Bey - Collectors
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; 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.