Identifikationsnummer
C 2340
Edo designations
English designations
Commemorative Head
Categories
Altar & Shrine Objects
Heads
Location
1 Adesogbe (Plymouth) Road, P.M.B. 1115, Benin City , Edo State
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Commemorative Head
Commemorative Head
Commemorative Head

Iconographies

2 annotations
Ititi ako
Star beads

The Ititi ako is a cluster of coral beads, usually three or four, attached to a pin and used to embellish the royal crowns on Uhunmwu-Elao (commemorative heads) and Uhunmwu-Ẹkuẹ (pendant masks). These bead clusters are also known as star beads, which indicate the prosperous destiny of an individual or wearer. Apart from enhancing the appearance of the wearer, they also represent the individual’s high social status. Judging from their presence on a variety of head sculptures, both men and women wore Ititi ako.

1 annotation
Ititi ako
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
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 (year approximate) to 1898
The object is known to have come into contact with J. F. Blech, in Hamburg.
Purchase
1898
The object was purchased by the MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt from J. F. Blech in Hamburg.
Restitution
December 16, 2022
The object was restituted by the MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria through Carsten Brosda, S.E. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Abba Isa Tijani and Barbara Plankensteiner from Hamburg to Nigeria.

Related archival documents

1 documents
See all
An archival document representing a Newspaper Clippings of 3 page(s)
Newspaper Clipping
MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt
"Altertümer von Benin im Hamburgischen Museum für Völkerkunde - Teil II" von Prof. Dr. Hagen und andere Veröffentlichungen von Prof. Dr. Hagen
Date
January 25, 1920

Institution data

MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2022-06-10
Languages: german, english
Institution fieldValue
Identifikationsnummer
object id
C 2340
Titel
designation
Gedenkkopf eines Königs (uhunmwun elao)
Materialien
material
ANORGANISCH/Metall/Gelbguß
Heutiges Staatsgebiet des Herstellungsortes
production place
Afrika/Westafrika/Nigeria/Benin-Reich
Provenienz/Name
prior source
provenance
Blech
Provenienz Objektitinerar Akteure Orte Daten
provenance
J. F. Blech
Provenienz/Affiliation
provenance
Port of Hamburg (?)
Provenienz/Country
provenance
Germany
Provenienz/Date of Birth
provenance
unknown
Provenienz/Date of Death
provenance
unknown
Provenienz/First Name
provenance
J. F.
Provenienz/No
provenance
3
Provenienz/Place of Birth
provenance
unknown
Provenienz/Place of Death
provenance
unknown
Provenienz/Profession
provenance
(Dock) worker
Provenienz/Role-Function/0
provenance
Consignor
Provenienz/Role-Function/1
provenance
Provenienz/Sex
provenance
male
Provenienz/Short Biography
provenance
J. F. Blech appears in the Hamburg address book of 1898 as “Arbtr.” (= worker) and most likely did not tralvel to Africa himself. His full name is not known. Most likely, Blech was a dock worker and, in this way, probably acquired ethnographic objects, including two works of art from the Kingdom of Benin, which he sold to the museum in 1898.
Provenienz/Street
provenance
Neumannstr. 5
Provenienz/Town
provenance
Hamburg
Hersteller kulturhist. Herkunftsgesellschaft
ethnic attribution
--/Edo
Heutiger Aufbewahrungsort Sammlung
department and institution
Museum am Rothenbaum. Kulturen und Künste der Welt (MARKK)
Akquisitionsdatum
accession date
1898
Alte Inventarnummer
Inventurdatum
23.07.2015
Label Text (deu)
Gedenkkopf eines Königs Uhunmwun Elao Unbekannte Werkstatt der Bronzegießergilde Igun Eronmwon / Königreich Benin, Nigeria, 19. Jh. / Gelbguss / Ankauf von J. F. Blech, 1898, Inv. Nr. C 2340 Nur dem König und der Königinmutter war es gestattet ihre Ahnenaltäre mit Köpfen aus Gelbguss auszustatten. Die formalisierten, massiven Köpfe, die eine Perlenkrone mit seitlichen Flügeln tragen, werden in das 19. Jh. datiert. Der Überlieferung nach soll dieser Kronentyp von Oba Osemwende, der 1816 den Thron bestieg, eingeführt worden sein. Bis heute trägt der Oba eine Korallenperlenkrone dieser Art als Teil seines Krönungsornats. Die Köpfe dienten als Ständer für schwere beschnitzte Stoßzähne. Anhand der erhaltenen Königsköpfe wurde eine stilistische Chronologie der Benin-Kunst erarbeitet. Dieser zufolge gelten jene mit dem feinsten Guss und einer naturalistischen Gestaltung als ältere und die stilisierten, dickwandigeren als jüngere.
Label Text (eng)
Commemorative Head of a King Uhunmwun Elao Unidentified workshop of the Bronze Casters Guild Igun Eronmwon / Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, 19th century / Brass / Acquired from J. F. Blech, 1898, Inv. no. C 2340 Only the king and the queen mother were entitled to furnish their ancestral altars with bronze heads. The formalized, massive royal heads with a winged beaded crown dates back to the 19th century. According to oral tradition, this type of crown was introduced by Oba Osemwende, who ascended the throne in 1816. To this day, the Oba wears a coral bead crown like this one, as part of his coronation regalia. The heads also served as stands for heavy carved tusks. The existing royal heads with their variations allowed to identify a stylistic chronology of Benin art. According to this, those with the finer cast and more naturalistic style are considered older and the stylized, thickerwalled examples more recent.
Maße
Höhe: 47,50 cm; Durchmesser: 32,00 cm
Sensitive Content

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