Provenance

6 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 1900

The object is known to have come into contact with Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers (Lane Fox) and Farnham Pitt-Rivers Museum, later in Farnham.

Unknown

1949 (approximate) to 1972

The object is known to have come into contact with Kenneth John Hewett, in Farnham and later London.

Purchase

1972

The object was purchased by Lisa & Robert Sainsbury from Kenneth John Hewett from London to Great Britain.

Donation

1973

The object was donated by Lisa & Robert Sainsbury to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts from Great Britain to Norwich.

Institution data

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

The data was transferred directly by the institution.

Last updated: 2021-08-02

Language: english

Institution field	Value
object_number object id	233
title designation object type	Leopard head hip mask
description description	Leopard head hip mask. West Africa, Nigeria: Benin. Late 18th/early 19th century. Bronze, iron. h. 15.2 cm. Acquired 1972. Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection. UEA 233
free_field.content description	JA4372MH-233Digital photo (MD)This leopard is baring teeth displaying fangs pointing up and down on either side of the mouth. The whiskers are shown as a pair of tridents on either side of the nose. The long, almond shaped eyes show hatching of the eye borders which first appears to have been introduced around 1775. A decorative loop effect runs round the bottom of the mask from one cheek to the other. The small, leaf-shaped ears hide suspension loops. The surface of the mask is pitted with tiny dots. (VADS Helen Coleman) Benin bronze heads, figures and masks, human or animal, may be divided into those which were made before or after about 1775, the criterion being the presence in the later ones of hatched eye borders. These masks, mostly human or leopard, are presented by the Oba to chiefs upon installation, and are tied on over the crossing of the skirt on the left hip. Chiefs of all ranks wear a bronze pendant-mask on the left hip when in full ceremonial regalia. In form they are related to the bronze pendant-masks sent to vassal rulers (Willett, 1971), and the ivory pendant-mask worn by the Oba. Tradition relates that when Oba Ewuare (about mid fifteenth century) was in exile he slept under a tree, and in the morning found a leopard on a branch over him. He took this as a sign of future good fortune, and vowed that, if he became the King, he would sacrifice a leopard every year to his head, the locus of his luck and power. Leopards have a very special place in Benin symbolism (Ben-Amos, 1980: 64, 88), where the sacrifice of the leopard stands for triumph over the bush; the Oba as king of the settled land has shown that he has power of the leopard, who is king of the wild country. There was a guild for capturing wild leopards, and a leopard face on cloth was intended to strike fear into enemy's hearts. There are two suspension loops inside the mask behind the ears. The surface of the leopard's face is covered with small rosettes made of impressed dots; the feline whiskers are shown as a pair of 'tridents' on either side of the nose. The rings bordering the lower edge may have been for pendant rings or bells. (Margret Carey. In: Steven Hooper (ed.), 1997, Catalogue to the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection. University of East Anglia.)
material material	BronzeIron
dimension.free dimensions	h. 145 x w. 75 x d. 24 mm
dimension.type dimensions	HeightWidthDepth
dimension.unit dimensions	mmmmmm
object_category object type	Mask3D
inscription.content inscriptions	Collection identification and object number
inscription.method inscriptions	Silversafe paper coated and adhered with Paraloid B72
inscription.notes inscriptions	Pre-2001
inscription.type inscriptions	Object number label
inscription.type.lref inscriptions	1778
acquisition.source prior source	Robert and Lisa Sainsbury
collection prior source	Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection
owner_hist.notes prior source provenance	Formerly in the Pitt-Rivers Collection, Farnham, Dorset
acquisition.notes provenance	Benin City was the principal settlement of the Edo Kingdom of Benin, situated in the south of Nigeria. In February 1897 the city was attacked by British military, ending the ruling indigenous administration, and the Oba (King) Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (reigned 1888–1897) was exiled. The city was destroyed along with its Royal Palaces. The royal regalia and important religious and memorial sculptures that survived the raid, were looted by the combined forces of British Royal marines and other colonial forces. The Oba’s son, Aiguobasinwin Ovonramwen, Eweka II (reigned 1914-1933) returned to Benin City in 1914, restored the city and Palace complex and the Oba dynasty continues today as a regional and cultural administration in Edo state, Nigeria. The number of artefacts taken in 1897 is believed to be around 2,500, which were shipped to the UK by the British Admiralty. About 40% of the objects were accessioned to the British Museum (700 works) and other works were given to individual military personnel. The remainder were sold at auction by the Admiralty to pay for the expedition , for example, at Stevens Auction Rooms, 38 King Street, London, May 25, 1897, followed by several sales at William Downing Webster, Bicester, between 1898 and 1900. The artefacts are now dispersed across museum collections, notably in Europe and the USA. Formerly in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Dorset (1900 catalogue). Purchased by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury from John Hewett, 1972 Donated by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury to the University of East Anglia, 1973 (Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts)
credit_line provenance	Donated by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury, 1973
cultural_group ethnic attribution	Edo
acquisition.date accession date	1973
acquisition.method accession method	Gift
notes notes
exhibition exhibition history
exhibition.date.end exhibition history
exhibition.date.start exhibition history
exhibition.lref exhibition history
exhibition.organiser exhibition history
exhibition.person_responsible exhibition history
exhibition.person_responsible.role exhibition history
exhibition.venue exhibition history
catalogue.illus_page bibliography	157
catalogue.name bibliography	Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection / edited by Steven Hooper
catalogue.name.lref bibliography	7
catalogue.number bibliography	120
catalogue.page bibliography	157
catalogue.volume bibliography	2
current_owner legal status	University of East Anglia
condition condition
condition.lref condition
acquisition.method.lref	8817
acquisition.source.lref	2149
collection.lref	297
cultural_group.lref	519
current_location.context	Art Store 2 Cabinet 1AB
current_location.date	2/21/20
current_location.lref	1481
current_location.name	Art Store 2 Cabinet 1AB
current_location.notes	(LR)
current_location.type	4
current_owner.lref	603
dimension.type.lref	678
dimension.unit.lref	999
dimension.value	1457524
documentation.author
documentation.place
documentation.publisher
documentation.shelfmark
documentation.staff_library
documentation.title
documentation.title.lref
documentation.year
edit.date	2020-10-152020-10-152020-08-122020-06-082020-06-082020-06-012020-06-012020-06-012020-05-182020-04-022020-02-24
edit.name	uwz19wpuuwz19wpuruh16mruruh16mruruh16mruruh16mruruh16mruruh16mruawx19acuawx19acuawx19acu
edit.source	collect>interncollect>interncollect>interncollect>interncollect>interncollect>interncollect>interncollect>interncollect>interncollect>internCOLLECT
edit.time	10:24:4310:05:2711:32:4610:35:0710:32:4913:22:3513:17:4511:55:1314:51:5515:16:3911:03:03
frame	Object mount
frame.notes	Y (Remounted in March 2015)
free_field.confidential	x
free_field.type	B/W NegB/W NegColour
input.date	2/4/02
input.name	g122
input.source	collect>intern
input.time	4:37:57 PM
label.date
label.source
label.text
label.type
material.lref	55274
object_category.lref	3338815
owner_hist.date.start	1972

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