Accession Number
1975.7.1
Institution
Pitt Rivers Museum
Edo designations
English designations
Male Figure
Categories
Figures
Location
South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3PP
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Provenance

5 events
Production
unknown to February 22, 1897 (day approximate)
The object was produced by Unknown member(s) of the Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn guild in Benin City.
Looted
February 22, 1897 (day approximate) to June 1899 (year approximate)
The object was looted by Unknown member of the British colonial military campaign on Benin - February 1897 from Benin Kingdom.
Unknown
February 22, 1897 (day approximate) to August 13, 1898
The object is known to have come into contact with William Downing Webster, later in Bicester.
Purchase
August 13, 1898
The object was purchased by Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers (Lane Fox) and Farnham Pitt-Rivers Museum from William Downing Webster from Bicester to Farnham.
Auction
1975
The object was auctioned to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Farnham Pitt-Rivers Museum through Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York City.

Related archival documents

2 documents
See all
Museum Catalogue
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Die Altertümer von Benin
Date
January 1, 1919 at 12:00:00 AM
An archival document representing a Auction Catalog of 66 page(s)
Auction Catalogue
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Thomas J. Watson Library sales and auction catalogues
Date
April 22, 1965

Institution data

Pitt Rivers Museum
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2021-07-20
Language: english
Institution fieldValue
Accession Number
object id
1975.7.1
Description
description
Brass figure. [JC 7 7 2000]
Material / Process
material
Material of original: Brass Metal
Dimensions
dimensions
Length 113,00 mm; Width: max 55,00 mm
Keywords
object type
Keyword: Figure; Keyword: House-ornament; Keyword: Shield-cover
No. of objects
object count
1
Dating
date made
Date made: 1897
Geographical Provenance
production place
Africa -> Western Africa -> Nigeria, Benin City
Persons
prior source
PRM source: Parke-Bernet Galleries, PRM source: William Buller Fagg
Provenance
prior source
provenance
Other Owners, William Downing Webster; Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers; Farnham Museum, Farnham, Dorset; Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York; William Buller Fagg
When Collected
date collected
When collected:
Cultural Groups
ethnic attribution
-> Edo
Acquired
accession date
Acquired: 1975
Primary Documentation
notes
Accession book entry: : (for 1975.7.1 and .2): W. FAGG ESQUIRE, .... BARNES, LONDON SW13 9NQ. 2 specimens originally in the PITT RIVERS MUSEUM, FARNHAM and purchased by Mr Fagg from Parke-Bernet, NEW YORK, in 1965. Purchased by PITT RIVERS MUSEUM, OXFORD with the aid of a grant from the Purchase Grant Fund administered by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London... , NIGERIA, BENIN. Human figure of bronze wearing a rope harness, which passes over each shoulder and between the legs. Arms extended in front of chest, fingers curled onto palms. Flat topped cranium. Tasselled “scarf” round neck. Mr Fagg considered that “the figure was probably detached from a plaque or possibly from a smaller pendant of shield shape and represents a kind of ritual acrobatics formerly enacted once a year and called amofi’. A complete plaque is in LAGOS MUSEUM (ex. Rawson collection). Mr H. Ling Roth believed this represented a cure for cretinism (Ref. Reliquary. Vol. IV, 1898, p. 173.) Specimen depicted and described by General Pitt Rivers... [see reference below]. Length 11.3 cm. Max. width 5.5 cm.’; Accession book entry: : Samples have been taken for analysis prior to accessioning (1 large, 3 small holes in base).’; Documentation: : See file 202.4, Vol II, `Purchase grants', and 002.50 letter 12. [Neither in RDF 18 5 1997; JC]
Research Notes
notes
Research Notes: Illustrated and described on page 1,711 in volume 5 of the manuscript catalogue of General Pitt-Rivers's 'second' collection, held in the Department of Manuscripts and University Archives at Cambridge University Library (MSS Add.9455): 'Date: 1898 Aug 13 / Drawing and Description of object: Bt of Webster (cont’d) ... Human naked figure of bronze. A large thick plaster covers the whole of the back, and is fastened on with cords round the arms and legs. Mr H. Ling Roth believes this to represent a cure for cretinism & says that two larger figures like it have been seen in Benin City (”Reliquary” vol IV 1898 p. 173) Benin [2 Drawings annotated 1/2] / Added: P.48 / Price: £6.13 / Deposited at: Room 7 case 73 [in red] / Removed to: '. [AP 22/03/2010; JC 12 9 2013]
Archaological / Ethnographic
E
Archival documentation ID
Class
Class: Figure; Class: Status; Class: Ritual and Ceremonial; Class: Furniture Dwelling; Class: Weapon
Collection Type
Object
Related Collections
Sensitive Content

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