Provenance

5 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

1930 (approximate) to 1968

The object is known to have come into contact with Mathias Komor, later in New York City.

Purchase

1930 (approximate) to 1968

The object was purchased by John Lionberger Davis from Mathias Komor and Komor Gallery from New York City to St. Louis.

Gift

1968

The object was given as a gift by John Lionberger Davis to the Princeton University Art Museum from St. Louis to Princeton.

Institution data

Princeton University Art Museum

The data was transferred directly by the institution.

Last updated: 2021-07-23

Language: english

Institution field	Value
objectnumber object id	y1968-33
Former-PUAM-Title designation	Musical instrument: hand-held clapper surmounted by ibis/bird of prophecy with spread wings
Title designation	Idiophone: bird of prophecy (ahianmwen-oro)
Core-Cataloguing-Fields/Description description	Openwork with brown patina
Medium material	Brass
Terms/Medium-Attributes material	brass (alloy), casting (process), lost-wax process
Measurements dimensions	h. 32.0 cm., w. 10.6 cm., d. 10.2 cm. (12 5/8 x 4 3/16 x 4 in.)
Core-Cataloguing-Fields/Classification object type	Musical Instruments
Terms/Classification-Terms object type	idiophones, musical instruments
Terms/Subject-Terms iconography	birds
Date date made	17th century – 18th century
Search-Dates date made	1600, 1799
maker producer	Edo artist
Geography/Country production place	Nigeria
Geography/Place-made production place	Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, Western Africa
Geography/Region production place	Benin Kingdom
Geography/SubContinent production place	Western Africa
Accession-Information/Donor prior source	J. Lionberger Davis, 1878–1973
Creditline prior source	Gift of J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900
Core-Cataloguing-Fields/Provenance provenance	Benin City (Edo), present-day Nigeria, until 1897; [Mathias Komor Works of Fine Art, New York, NY]; J. Lionberger Davis; Princeton University Art Museum, 1968 - Provenance, 2017-04-28, Kristen D. Windmuller-Luna
Terms/Culture-Terms ethnic attribution	African, Benin
Accession-Information/Accession-Date accession date	1968
Accession-Information/Accession-Method accession method	Gift
Exhibition-History/Exhibition/Exhibition-Date exhibition history
Exhibition-History/Exhibition/Exhibition-Place exhibition history
Exhibition-History/Exhibition/Exhibition-Title exhibition history
Exhibition-History/Exhibtion/Exhibition-Date exhibition history	Feb 14, 1981 – Jul 5, 1981
Exhibition-History/Exhibtion/Exhibition-Place exhibition history	Princeton University Art Museum
Exhibition-History/Exhibtion/Exhibition-Title exhibition history	African Tribal Art from the Collection
Published-References-and-Reproductions/Reference/0 bibliography	"Selected checklist of objects in the collection of African art," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 58, no. 1/2 (1999): p. 77–83, p. 78.
Published-References-and-Reproductions/Reference/1 bibliography	"Gifts by J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900, to the Art Museum", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 33, no. 2 (1974): p. 24-30, p. 30 (illus.).
Published-References-and-Reproductions/Reference/2 bibliography	Alfreda J. Murck, "Acquisitions 1968", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 27, no. 2 (1968): p. 94-105, p. 100.
Published-References-and-Reproductions/Reference/3 bibliography
Published-References-and-Reproductions/Reference/4 bibliography
Accession-Information/Acquisition-Justification	No justification recorded
Cataloguer	MJL, Catalogue Date: 2010-12-01
Core-Cataloguing-Fields/Department	African and Oceanic Art
Geography/Geo-Link	http://www.geonames.org/2328926/federal-republic-of-nigeria.html
Places/Place/0/Place-Name	Nigeria, Western Africa
Places/Place/0/Place-link	http://www.geonames.org/2328926/federal-republic-of-nigeria.html
Places/Place/1/Place-Name
Places/Place/1/Place-link
Primary-Title	object ID/standardization/added local name - KDW 12-4-17)
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Related-Media/Media/0/Public-Caption	PUAM Photo
Related-Media/Media/0/Ren-Date	1/22/20
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Related-Media/Media/4/Media-Type	Image
Related-Media/Media/4/Public-Caption	Inventory Project
Related-Media/Media/4/Ren-Date	11/29/10
Related-Media/Media/4/Rendition-Number	R34681
Related-Media/Media/4/view
Related-Media/Media/5/Filename	y1968-33_1.jpg
Related-Media/Media/5/Media-Type	Image
Related-Media/Media/5/Public-Caption	Reference Image
Related-Media/Media/5/Ren-Date	1/24/18
Related-Media/Media/5/Rendition-Number	S56497
Related-Media/Media/5/view
Related-Media/Media/6/Filename	Acc_Af_0059.pdf
Related-Media/Media/6/Media-Type	Document
Related-Media/Media/6/Public-Caption	Accession Card
Related-Media/Media/6/Ren-Date	11/10/10
Related-Media/Media/6/Rendition-Number	R33653
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life-dates	Birth: 1100, Death: 1900

Princeton University Art Museum

The data was transferred directly by the institution.

Last updated: 2021-02-10

Language: english

Institution field	Value
objectid object id	30795
objectnumber object id	y1968-33
Primary_Title designation	Idiophone: bird of prophecy (ahianmwen-oro)
displaytitle designation object type	Idiophone: bird of prophecy (ahianmwen-oro)
caption description	Edo artist, Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, Western Africa, Idiophone: bird of prophecy (ahianmwen-oro), 17th century – 18th century. Brass, 32 x 10.6 x 10.2 cm. Gift of J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900 (y1968-33)
captionhtml description	Edo artist, Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, Western Africa, <i>Idiophone: bird of prophecy (ahianmwen-oro)</i>, 17th century – 18th century. Brass, 32 x 10.6 x 10.2 cm. Gift of J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900 (y1968-33)
texts/0/textentryhtml description
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medium material	Brass
terms/Materials/term material	brass (alloy)
dimensionelements/Depth dimensions	Overall: 1015 centimeters
dimensionelements/Height dimensions	Overall: 32.00 centimeters
dimensionelements/Width dimensions	Overall: 10.60 centimeters
dimensionelements/diam dimensions
dimensions dimensions	h. 32.0 cm., w. 10.6 cm., d. 10.2 cm. (12 5/8 x 4 3/16 x 4 in.)
classification object type	Musical Instruments
classifications/0/classification object type	idiophones
classifications/1/classification object type	musical instruments
classifications/2/classification object type
terms/Subject/0/term iconography	birds
terms/Subject/1/term iconography
terms/Subject/2/term iconography
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datebegin date made	1600
datecomputed date made	1700
dateend date made	1799
daterange date made	A.D. 1700-1800
displaydate date made	17th century – 18th century
makers/datebegin producer	1100
makers/dateend producer	1900
makers/displaymaker producer	Edo artist
makers/displayname producer	Edo
makers/role producer	Artist
makers/suffix producer	artist
terms/Techniques/0/term production technique	casting (process)
terms/Techniques/1/term production technique	lost-wax process
geography/continent production place	Africa
geography/country production place	Nigeria
geography/displaygeography production place	Place made: Africa, Nigeria, Benin Kingdom
geography/geoname production place	http://www.geonames.org/2328926/federal-republic-of-nigeria.html
geography/location production place
geography/region production place	Benin Kingdom
geography/subcontinent production place	Western Africa
creditline prior source	Gift of J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900
cultureterms/0/culture ethnic attribution	African
cultureterms/1/culture ethnic attribution	Benin
displaymaker ethnic attribution	Edo artist
terms/Culture/0/term ethnic attribution
terms/Culture/1/term ethnic attribution
department department and institution	African and Oceanic Art
accessionyear accession date	1968-01-01
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bibliography/0/boilertext bibliography	"Selected checklist of objects in the collection of African art," <em>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</em> 58, no. 1/2 (1999): p. 77–83.
bibliography/0/citation bibliography	"Selected checklist of objects in the collection of African art," <em>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</em> 58, no. 1/2 (1999): p. 77–83., p. 78
bibliography/0/date bibliography	1999
bibliography/0/id bibliography	3043
bibliography/0/uri bibliography	https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774794
bibliography/1/boilertext bibliography	"Gifts by J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900, to the Art Museum", <EM>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</EM> 33, no. 2 (1974): p. 24-30.
bibliography/1/citation bibliography	"Gifts by J. Lionberger Davis, Class of 1900, to the Art Museum", <EM>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</EM> 33, no. 2 (1974): p. 24-30., p. 30 (illus.)
bibliography/1/date bibliography	1974
bibliography/1/id bibliography	6012
bibliography/1/uri bibliography	https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774533
bibliography/2/boilertext bibliography	Alfreda J. Murck, "Acquisitions 1968", <EM>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</EM> 27, no. 2 (1968): p. 94-105.
bibliography/2/citation bibliography	Alfreda J. Murck, "Acquisitions 1968", <EM>Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University</EM> 27, no. 2 (1968): p. 94-105., p. 100
bibliography/2/date bibliography	1968
bibliography/2/id bibliography	6009
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media/0/caption images	PUAM Photo
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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