In addition to the technically required cookies, our website also uses cookies for statistical evaluation. You can also use the website without these cookies. By clicking on "I agree" you agree that we may set cookies for analysis purposes. You can see and change your cookie settings here.
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.
European reports from the early 18th and 19th centuries as well as depictions on the palace tank and on relief panels from the 16th-17th centuries describe huge, brass-cast snakes wriggling down from the top of the roof towers. The interpretation of these snakes is ambiguous: on the one hand, they represent the realm of the sea god Olokun, the source of the king's power and wealth, but they also symbolise Osun, the spiritual power of plants, which was associated with the king's power, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Objektmaß: L: 46,5 cm G.: 19 kg Höhe x Breite x Tiefe: 20 x 54 x 40 cm
Material/Technique
Brass
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 8216
Provenance and sources
where
Benin [kingdom]
when
17th century-18th century.
where
Nigeria [Land]
who
Eduard Schmidt - Collectors
Description
17th century - 18th century, commissioned as decoration for the Royal Palace, Benin City; inherited by 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 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.
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.