Provenance

5 events

Production

1500 (year approximate) to February 22, 1897 (day approximate)

The object was produced 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.

Auction

April 4, 1898

The object was auctioned to William Downing Webster by Unknown member of the British colonial military campaign on Benin - February 1897 through Stevens Auction Rooms in London.

Purchase

July 15, 1898

The object was purchased by Mary Elizabeth Adams Brown from William Downing Webster from Bicester to New York City.

Gift

July 15, 1898 to 1918

The object was given as a gift by Mary Elizabeth Adams Brown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Institution data

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The data was downloaded via a public data access of the institution.

Last updated: 2025-06-02

Language: english

Institution field	Value
Is Highlight	False
Is Timeline Work	False
Is Public Domain license	False
Object ID object id	502440
Gallery Number	681
Department department and institution	Musical Instruments
AccessionYear accession date	1889
Object Name object type	Bell
Title designation	Bell
Culture ethnic attribution	Nigerian
Object Date date made	19th century
Object Begin Date date made	1800
Object End Date date made	1899
Medium material	Metal
Dimensions dimensions	H. 4 in., base 1-1/2 in.
Credit Line prior source	The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Country production place	Nigeria or Benin
Classification object type	Idiophone-Struck-bell-without clapper
Link Resource weblink	http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/502440
Object Wikidata URL	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116413037
Repository department and institution	Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Sensitive Content

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