Object Number
M.74.90
Edo designations
English designations
Relief Plaque
Categories
Palace Architecture & Ornamentation
Location
5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036, United States
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Iconographies

3 annotations
Ẹkpoki
Cylindrical Boxes

Ẹkpoki are cylindrical boxes made by members of the Isekpokin (guild of leather workers) from leather and bark. In the late 19th century, some were also crafted from brass sheet with rich embossed ornamentation. Members of the Igun Ẹronmwon (guild of brass casters) might have created examples from cast brass, although only a single example of this kind is known today (inventory no. 212729). Ẹkpoki are used by the Ọba to present gifts to chiefs, while chiefs use leather Ẹkpoki to send kola nuts and other traditional items to one another (Inneh 2007, pp. 109–110). Ẹkpoki also feature in important rituals such as Iguẹ, during which the Ọba is ceremonially presented with an Ẹkpoki (Blackmun in Plankensteiner 2007, cat. no. 74, p. 328), as well as Ugie-Ewere, during which the Ọba is presented with an Ẹkpoki that symbolically contains a gift from the Ooni of Ife (Plankensteiner 2007, cat. no. 83, p. 336). This refers to an oral tradition that, at the coronation, the Ooni of Ife sent certain regalia. Gifts presented in Ẹkpoki could also have carried symbolic messages.

2 annotations
Ẹkpoki
Ẹkpoki
Colar Bead
Odigba
Coral beaded collar

Odigba (coral-beaded collar) is a rigid neck collar made of coral beads, worn as part of ceremonial attire only by senior princes who have been made Enigie (Inneh 2007, p. 107). Although Ibafe (2007, p. 43) argued that the Odigba was introduced during the Ogiso period (c. 900–c. 1170 AD) by Ogiso Ere, along with other symbolically important Emwin Arhe, such as the Ada (ceremonial sword) and the Ẹbẹn (ceremonial sword), this seems unlikely, as coral was only introduced in the late 15th century through trade with Portuguese merchants.

1 annotation
Odigba

Provenance

5 events
Production
1504 (approximate) to 1550 (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
1949 (approximate) to 1980s
The object is known to have come into contact with Kenneth John Hewett, later in London.
Unknown
1958 (approximate) to 1974
The object is known to have come into contact with Eugene Victor Thaw, later in New York City.
Purchase
1974
The object was purchased by the LACMA The Los Angeles County Museum of Art from Eugene Victor Thaw through Anna Bing Arnold from New York City to Los Angeles.

Institution data

LACMA The Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2021-06-16
Language: english
Institution fieldValue
Object Number
object id
M.74.90
Title
designation
Plaque
Medium
material
Copper alloy
Dimensions
dimensions
19 x 7 1/4 x 3 1/2 in. (48.26 x 18.42 x 8.89 cm) irregular
Classification
object type
Sculpture
Date
date made
17th century
Maker
producer
Unknown
Place Made
production place
Africa, Nigeria
Credit Line
prior source
Gift of Anna Bing Arnold
Culture
ethnic attribution
Benin Kingdom
Department
department and institution
African Art
Exhibition History
exhibition history
LACMA Permanent Collection Galleries (Ahmanson Gallery); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, United States (February 16, 2001 - March 1, 2006) AFRICA, the Art of a Continent; Royal Academy of Arts, London, England, United Kingdom (October 4, 1995 - January 21, 1996) Presence and Power: Images of the Sublime from Africa, North America and the Pacific; Santa Ana College Art Gallery, Santa Ana, California, United States (August 30, 1985 - October 3, 1985) �Armand Hammer Award Luncheon�; Cultural Commission, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States (October 24, 1984) Benin Art; UCLA Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, California, United States (February 22, 1983 - April 24, 1983) LACMA Permanent Collection Galleries (Atrium Level); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, United States (1979 - 1982?) LACMA Tenth Anniversary Exhibition; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, United States (May 7, 1975 - June 29, 1975) Unknown Exhibition; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, United States (November 26, 1974 � April 28, 1975)
Publication History
bibliography
D'Andrea, Jeanne and Stephen West, ed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art Bulletin: Three Decades of Collecting: Gifts of Anna Bing Arnold. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1980. Donahue, Kenneth. Los Angeles County Museum of Art Handbook. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977. Los Angeles County Museum of Art Report July 1, 1973 - June 30, 1975. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1976. Los Angeles County Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 26. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1980. Ben-Amos, Paula and Arnold Rubin, ed. The Art of Power: The Power of Art, Studies in Benin Iconography. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1983. Donahue, Kenneth. X, a Decade of Collecting: 1965-1975. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1975.
Sensitive Content

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