Inventarisnummer
RV-1243-14
Edo designations
English designations
Attendant Figure
Categories
Figures
Location
1 Adesogbe (Plymouth) Road, P.M.B. 1115, Benin City , Edo State
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Iconographies

5 annotations
Ukpan obọ eva
Crossed Beaded Baldrics

The Ukpan obọ eva (coral-bead crossed baldrics) were worn as part of the ehaingbehia, the full ceremonial regalia, by only high-ranking members of the palace, including the Ọba himself, the Iy’Ọba, the Edaiken, and the Ezọmọ (Ben-Amos 1999, pp. 68, 141; Osadolor in Plankensteiner 2007, cat. no. 70, pp. 322–323).

1 annotation
Ukpan obọ eva
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
tribal marks
Iwu
Facial and Body Markings

Iwu are facial and body markings (scarifications) that were historically worn by Edo men and women. However, since the 1960s, the practice has been nearly extinct (Aisien 2011). In the past, Iwu were used as a way of proving that one was an Edo citizen, and the ceremony of having Iwu completed was an important rite of passage for men and women. The Osiwu, who also practised circumcision and other surgical procedures, would carry out the procedure of adding Iwu. There are different types of Iwu: ‘blades’ worn on the torso (Iwu-eko), and those worn on the face, such as Ikharo (three or four markings above the eyebrows), Irho (two narrow ‘blades’ worn on each cheek), Ovbihue (nasal ‘blades’), Ovbi-agbanmwen (chin ‘blade’), and Igho-okpa/Ukpgho (three forehead ‘blades’) (Aisien 2011, p. 22).

The number of Iwu also varied depending on the identity of the person wearing them. For example, royal men would wear six ‘blades’ on their torso, whilst men who were not royal would wear seven ‘blades’. Meanwhile, the Ọba’s female children would wear fifteen ‘blades’, and all other women would wear sixteen (Aisien 2011).

1 annotation
Iwu
Iviawẹ
Stacked Beaded Anklet

Ọba gha ye Ivie gie ọwan, ẹ ghi tama rẹn ehe nọ gha bae yi (When the Ọba gifts you a bead, he doesn’t tell you how to wear it) (Daniel Inneh, pers. comm., 27 September 2025).

Iviawẹ (also spelled ĺvîowẹ) are coral-beaded anklets, often worn stacked together (Aigbe 1985, p. 28; Okpokunu, Agbontaen-Eghafona & Ojo 2005, p. 162; Ọbazee 2025, p. 279). Many of the figures depicted on the Emwin Arhe (royal treasures) in brass, bronze, ivory, and wood are shown wearing these. According to Daniel Inneh (pers. comm., 27 September 2025), beads were sent to people whom the Ọba wished to honour, although there was no directive on how to wear them.

Mostly, people who wear Iviawẹ are identified as palace chiefs or priests and priestesses. However, today anyone can wear them as cultural identifiers or fashion pieces.

1 annotation
Iviawẹ
hairstyles
Eto
hairstyles

Hairstyles are used to determine a person's status in the society, as chiefs, common folks, chief's wives and the wives of the Ọba all wear different hairstyles. We have Okuku, Ikpe~okhokho, Idu~akpata

1 annotation
Eto

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.
Auction
February 22, 1897 (day approximate) to December 7, 1899
The object was auctioned to William Downing Webster through Stevens Auction Rooms in London.
Purchase
February 1900
The object was purchased by the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum from William Downing Webster through Johannes Dietrich Eduard Schmeltz, Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia van Waldeck-Pyrmont from London to Leiden.
Restitution
June 21, 2025
The object was restituted by the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria through Olugbile Holloway and Eppo Bruins from Netherlands to Nigeria.

Related archival documents

3 documents
See all
An archival document representing a Sales Catalog of 32 page(s)
Sales Catalogue
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Thomas J. Watson Library sales and auction catalogues
Date
August 1, 1899 to August 31, 1899
An archival document representing a Scans of published works of 529 page(s)
Scan of published worksMuseum Catalogue
Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum
Die Benin-Sammlung des Reichsmuseums für Volkenkünde in Leiden
Date
January 1, 1913
An archival document representing a Sales Catalogs of 42 page(s)
Sales Catalogue
Wellcome Collection
Catalogue of ethnological specimens : European and Eastern arms & armour, Prehistoric and other curiosities / W.D. Webster, Oxford House, Bicester, Oxon., England.
Date
January 1, 1899 to December 31, 1899

Institution data

Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2022-07-19
Language: dutch
Institution fieldValue
Inventarisnummer
object id
RV-1243-14
Objectnaam
designation
object type
Beeld
Titel
designation
object type
Beeld van een koninginmoeder
Associatie/beschrijving (online getoond)
description
Beeld van een vrouw, getooid met kralennetwerk op hoofd en om romp; om hals een hoge kralen kraag. Deze figuur heeft ooit deel uitgemaakt van een groep figuren op een voorouderaltaar.
Materiaal en techniek (NB: ook thesaurustermen aanpassen!)
material
Messing of brons ; ijzer ; verlorenwastechniek
Afmetingenlabel (H x B x D)
dimensions
21 cm 21 x 7,5 x 7,5 cm
Datering
date made
18e eeuw
Verzamelgeschiedenis (toelichting)
provenance
The acquisition of 53 Benin objects (RV-1243-1 to -46 and RV-1295-2 to -7) from William Downing Webster (1868-1913), a British ethnographic art dealer and collector, known to have assembled a large collection from the Benin military campaign of 1897, is characterised by budgeting issues (Waterfield & King 2006: 55-63). When Johannes Schmeltz received a first letter from Webster on 7 December 1899 with a list of Benin objects offered for sale, he realised it would need fundraising on his part to acquire this important collection (NL-LdnRMV-A1-30-542/545). Schmeltz managed to secure funds from, amongst others, Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina, and the Queen Mother, Princess Emma van Waldeck-Pyrmont. The Queen Mother’s secretary sent a letter to Schmeltz confirming the donation for the purchase of the Benin objects on 8 June 1900 (NL-LdnRMV-A1-31-344/345; CL-L: Nl- LdnRMV_A01_277_00109; AR-L 1899-1900: 13; MR-L: NL-LdnRMV_A03_007_0237). All the financial donors were listed in the Nederlandsche Staatscourant, the Dutch national state newspaper on 25 April 1902. While on 16 February 1900 Schmeltz writes to Webster that he wants ‘the greatest part’ of the objects offered to him but that he has not yet found the money to pay for them (NL-LdnRMV-A1-210-531/534), the first purchase of 30 objects was confirmed in the day book on 26 February 1900 and included one object from the Admiralty Islands (DB-L: NL-LdnRMV-A3-7-237). In a letter to Schmeltz dated 17 February 1900, Webster includes a newspaper clipping mentioning that he bought the objects at the J.C. Stevens auction. By doing this, he also gives evidence of the current prices of Benin objects (NL-LdnRMV-A1-31-505/506). All the objects that had been sent to the Netherlands for viewing and had not been selected were sent back. Also, some of the objects were first registered as loans, allowing Schmeltz to secure the funds to buy them as they were considered important: ‘From the objects still on loan some deserve to be mentioned here already as especially noteworthy.’ Two men, Elco M. Vis and R. Langenbach enabled the procurement of some loan objects: ‘Because of the gentlemen Elco M. Vis in Amsterdam and R. Langenbach in Worms, yours truly was able to once more purchase one of the objects on loan from the Kingdom of Benin [serie 1243].’ The plates in the annual report show that Schmeltz, used the donations to acquire Webster collections (series RV-1243) and Umlauff collections (series RV-1286, series RV-1310) as the money became available, irrespective of which artworks he had received on view first. (Excerpt from Provenance no. 2 'The Benin collections at the National Museum of World Cultures' written by Rosalie Hans with Annette Schmidt, 05-01-2021)
Cultuur (NB: ook thesaurusterm aanpassen!)
ethnic attribution
Bini
Deelcollectie
department and institution
Materiële cultuurcollectie
Verwervingsdatum
accession date
1900-02-01
Wijze van verwerving
accession method
Aankoop
Literatuur
bibliography
Publicaties over het object
bibliography
Bedaux, R.M.A. 1990 De geschiedenis van de Leidse Benin-verzameling. In: A. Duchâteau, Benin: vroege hofkunst uit Afrika. Brussel: 164 en 165. Marquart, J., 'Die Benin-Sammlung des Reichsmuseums für Völkerkunde in Leiden'. Veroffentlichungen des Reichsmuseums für Völkerkunde in Leiden. Serie II nr. 7. Leiden: Brill, 1913. For more information about the provenance, see <a href="https://issuu.com/tropenmuseum/docs/2021_provenance_2__benin__e-book" target="_blank"> Provenance #2 – the Benin collections at the National Museum of World Cultures </a> (NB: Issuu uses cookies).
Objectstatus
legal status
Eigendom
Met dank aan (online getoond)
Periode (NB: ook thesaurusterm aanpassen!)
Benin
Verkorte naam
AFRIK
Sensitive Content

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