Catalogue
ID
464416
Institution
Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria
Restituted
Previously owned by Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Edo designations
Uru
Uru
English designations
Aquamanile
Categories
Altar & Shrine Objects
Ceremonial Objects
Containers
Location
1 Adesogbe (Plymouth) Road, P.M.B. 1115, Benin City , Edo State
Aquamanile
Aquamanile
Aquamanile
Aquamanile
Aquamanile
Aquamanile

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

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.
Auction
1899
The object was auctioned to Hans Meyer through Stevens Auction Rooms in London.
Loan
1899 to 1900
The object was loaned by Hans Meyer to Berlin Ethnologisches Museum from Leipzig to Berlin.
Purchase
1900 (approximate)
The object was purchased by the Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin from Hans Meyer in Berlin.
Restitution
August 25, 2022
The object was restituted by the Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria through Hermann Parzinger and Abba Isa Tijani from Berlin to Nigeria.

Related archival documents

1 documents
See all
Museum Catalogue
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Die Altertümer von Benin
Date
January 1, 1919 at 12:00:00 AM

Institution data

Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2021-06-14
Language: german
Institution fieldValue
ID
object id
464416
Sachbegriff
designation
Sachbegriff: Wassergefäß aus Messing; Sachbegriff: Plastik; Sachbegriff: Fragment einer Tierplastik
Titel
designation
Titel: Leopard (Aquamanile)
Objektref.
description
VIII A 12108, Positiv, SW, Panther aus Bronze, Kurt Grunst (*04.04.1921); VIII A 14289, Positiv, SW, Leopard, Bronze, Landesbildstelle Bonn; E 100/1900, Erwerbung: IX 67-72, übertragen nach III C 10877-10882, Panther, Kopf mit Schlangen u. Vögeln, Platte mit [kl. Zeichnung Muster] im Grund, Platte, Mann mit Bogen & Schwert 20.VII.00, Leigabe Prof. H. Meyer, jetzt Kauf von Webster, 1900, Hans Meyer (22.3.1858 - 5.7.1929)
Texte Online
description
Online Beschreibung, Bei dem Leoparden handelt es sich um ein Aquamanile, ein Gießgefäß für die rituelle Waschung des Königs vor Zeremonien an den Ahnenaltären. [Benin_Königreich]
Material / Technik
material
Material: Messing; Ausgabe: Messing; Ausgabe (engl.): Brass
Material / Technik // Alle
material
Messing, Brass, Messing
Maße
dimensions
44,00 x 15,00 x 66,50 cm; 10,40 kg
Objekttyp
object type
Allgemein
Sachbegr. Ausgabe
object type
Aquamanile
Anzahl Teile
object count
1
Datierung
date made
17. Jh.
Geogr. Bezüge
production place
Nigeria ( Land ); Benin ( Königreich )
Geogr. Bezüge // Alle
production place
Nigeria, Benin
Beteiligte
prior source
Hans Meyer (22.3.1858 - 5.7.1929), Sammler
Beteiligte // (Name, Sortierung=kleinste)
prior source
Meyer, Hans
Veräußerer
prior source
null
Erwerb. Notiz
provenance
Notiz: Rückführung Wiesbaden; Ausgabe: 17. Jh., Auftragsarbeit der Igun Eronmwon oder Gilde der Messinggießer im Königreich Benin; Besitz vor 1897 derzeit unbekannt; geplündert im Zusammenhang mit der britischen Eroberung von Benin, 1897; in unbekanntem Besitz nach der Eroberung des Königreichs Benin; ersteigert von Hans Meyer bei Stevens' Auction Rooms Ltd., London (J.C. Stevens), 1899; Leihgabe von Hans Meyer an das Königliche Museum für Völkerkunde Berlin; Ankauf durch das Museum, ca. 1900.
Verw. Institution
department and institution
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Erwerb. Datum
accession date
1900
Besitzart
accession method
Eigentum
Erwerbungsart
accession method
Ankauf
Digital Assets
images
Vorlage; III C 10877 ( VIII A 16647 FDd ).jpg, Vorlage; Vorlage; Vorlage; Vorlage; Vorlage; Vorlage; III C 10877 ZP.doc, Office; III C 10877 -A.jpg, Repro Digitalisat; III C 10877 -D.jpg, Repro Digitalisat; III C 10877-Rio.jpg, Vorlage; Vorlage; Repro Digitalisat; III C 10877 -C.jpg, Repro Digitalisat; III C 10877.jpg, Repro Digitalisat
Erwerb. Nr.
I/33/1900
Ident. Nr.
III C 10877
Ident. Nr. // (Sortiernr.)
0003 C 10877
Obj. Status
vorhanden
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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