Catalogue
Registration number
Af1910,0618.4
Institution
British Museum
English designations
Pendant Plaque
Categories
Ceremonial Regalia
Location
Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG, United Kingdom
Pendant Plaque
Pendant Plaque
Pendant Plaque
Pendant Plaque

Iconographies

1 annotations
Ẹkpẹn
Leopard

The Ẹkpẹn (leopard) is an animal that appears most often among the motifs decorating the Emwin Arhe (royal treasures). The Ẹkpẹn symbolises the valour and strength of the Ọba, as well as his political authority. The Benin people eulogise the Ọba as the ‘ẹkpẹn n'owa’ (leopard of the home).

When a hunter kills a leopard, he must say “ẹkpẹn n'oha” (I killed a bush leopard), as it is taboo to say that a hunter killed a leopard without specifying that it is a bush leopard, as otherwise this would “be tantamount to symbolically killing the king” (Nevadomsky 1988, p. 81). For this reason, leopards of the bush are called Atalakpa to distinguish them from those that represent the Ọba.

1 annotation
Ẹkpẹn

Provenance

5 events
Production
unknown to February 22, 1897 (day approximate)
The object was produced by Unknown member(s) of the Igbesamwan 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 (year approximate) to June 18, 1910
The object is known to have come into contact with H. S. Kingsford.
Purchase
June 18, 1910
The object was purchased by the British Museum from H. S. Kingsford with its destination in London.
Exhibition
1970 to 1973
The object was exhibited at London.

Related archival documents

1 documents
See all
An archival document representing a Auction Catalog of 24 page(s)
Auction Catalogue
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Die Erwerbung ethnologischer Gegenstände aus der Benin-Expedition. Vol. 6
Date
November 30, 1909

Institution data

British Museum
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2025-06-10
Language: english
Institution fieldValue
Registration number
object id
Af1910,0618.4
PRN
object id
EAF15203
Object Type
designation
ornament
Description
description
Ornament; carved from elephant ivory. In form of leopard with spots inlaid in brass.
Ethnic name (made by)
ethnic attribution
Edo
Date
16thC - 19thC
Production place
production place
Made in: Benin City
Findspot
place collected
Found/Acquired: Benin City
Materials
material
elephant ivory ~brass
Technique
production technique
carved ~inlaid
Dimensions
dimensions
Height: 9.30 cm~Width: 28.00 cm~Depth: 3.70 cm
Exhibition history
exhibition history
Exhibited: 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa 2002 Oct-2008 Oct, The British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Bristol, Permanent Gallery display
Subjects
iconography
wild cat/big cat
Associated events
event
Associated Event: British to Benin City - Feb 1897
Acquisition name (acquisition)
provenance
H S Kingsford
Acquisition date
accession date
1910.0
Sensitive Content

Digital Benin collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards African and African diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Read more about the background of this statement here

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