Catalogue
Object Number
A161451
Institution
Science Museum
Edo designations
English designations
Ancestral Staff
Categories
Altar & Shrine Objects
Staffs
Location
Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD

Provenance

4 events
Production
unknown to February 22, 1897 (day approximate)
The object was produced by Unknown member(s) of the Igbesamwan 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
September 28, 1933
The object was auctioned to the Wellcome Collection, Henry Solomon Wellcome and London Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine through Foster's and Harry Stow in London.
Loan
1970s to unknown
The object was loaned by London Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, the Wellcome Collection and Wellcome Trust to the Science Museum in London.

Institution data

Science Museum
This object is part of Sir Henry Wellcome’s Museum Collection, which comprises over 117,000 items relating to medical history and the history of science, which have been on long-term loan to the Science Museum from the Wellcome Trust since the 1970s. Current Science Museum records for items in Sir Henry Wellcome’s Museum Collection are, where possible, supplemented for Digital Benin with additional historic data from Wellcome Collection’s archives.
Last updated: 2021-11-23
Language: english
Institution fieldValue
Object Number
object id
A161451
Collection Online Title
designation
Carved wooden staff with rattle
Object Name
designation
staffs
Description
description
Carved wooden staff with rattle at top, carved in ligneous sections, top hollowed with rattling stick inside, finial shaped like a head, used in religious ceremonies, Benin, 1880-1930
Description of object/0
description
RATTLE STAFF Carved wood, surmounted by human head. 56" long. Benin, West Africa.
Description of object/1
description
Description of object/2
description
Materials
material
wood
Measurements
dimensions
height 1430 mm; rattle: diameter 53 mm; staff: diameter 57 mm
Date Made
date made
1880-1930
Credit Line
prior source
Foster
Auction House
provenance
Foster
Bought of / Acquisition/0
provenance
Fos: 64/28/ix/33. (Mr. Stow).
Bought of / Acquisition/1
provenance
Bought of / Acquisition/2
provenance
Provenance
provenance
Purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome's museum collection from Foster auction house 28 September 1933; lot 66
Acquisition Date/0
accession date
28.09.1933
Dispersal Notes
notes
Legal Status
legal status
LOAN: WELLCOME TRUST
Digitised image direct link/0
images
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/k8km988b/items?sierraId=b19197238&canvas=396
Digitised image direct link/1
images
Digitised image direct link/2
images
Accession Number
A161451
Additional notes on flimsy/0
Lot No.
64
New Registration (R Year) Number
R3798/1937
Old Registration Number
Recipient
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection (Science Museum loan)
Recipient Catalogue Record
https://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/co104602/carved-wooden-staff-with-rattle-at-top-carved-in-staffs
Wellcome archive reference/0
WA/HMM/CM/Inv/A.185
Wellcome archive reference/1
Wellcome archive reference/2
Wellcome numbering
3798/1937
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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