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Two dignitaries

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The depiction could be of two enobors flanking the king during public appearances and supporting his arms. Such depictions are known from a number of relief panels. Like the king, they wear a shirt made of coral beads and a coral cap with a high peak. They can be distinguished from the king by the absence of the large coral pearl, which he wears on a necklace as an important royal insignia.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Relief plaque
Dimensions
Height: 48,5 cm
Depth: 7,7 cm
Width: 30 cm
Height: 22,8 cm
Depth: 4 cm
Width: 16 cm
Height: 32 cm
Depth: 5,5 cm
Width: 15,5 cm
Height: 48,5 cm
Depth: 7,7 cm
Width: 17 cm
Material/Technique
Brass
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8417

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    Benin [kingdom]
  • Production
    when
    16th century
    where
    Nigeria
  • Collecting
    who
    Heinrich Bey - Collectors
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    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.
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED

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