Catalogue
Catalog Number
79B:R:138
Institution
Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria
Edo designations
English designations
Altar Tusk
Categories
Altar & Shrine Objects
Location
1 Adesogbe (Plymouth) Road, P.M.B. 1115, Benin City , Edo State
Altar Tusk
Altar Tusk
Altar Tusk

Iconographies

1 annotations
TBC King's Mark
King's Mark

The King’s Mark primarily refers to a marking carved on elephant tusks in the form of two serif ‘I’ letters placed side by side. The marks served as a clear declaration of the royal court’s ownership of these tusks and underscored the Ọba’s key role in controlling trade relations, especially concerning ivory (Eisenhofer in Plankensteiner 2007, cat. no. 37, p. 297). Historically, the Ọba held a near monopoly on ivory, being entitled to one tusk from every elephant slain within the kingdom (Plankensteiner 2007, p. 293). This established ivory as a direct symbol of the Ọba’s power and wealth.

1 annotation
TBC King's Mark

Institution data

Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria
The data was transferred directly by the institution and digitized by Digital Benin in collaboration with the NCMM
Last updated: 2023-11-30
Languages: english, bini; edo
Institution fieldValue
Catalog Number
object id
79B:R:138
Material
material
Ivory
Description
description
Aken’ni Elao (altar tusks) are usually ivory tusks carved with scenes of ceremonies or spiritual activities. These were placed at the ancestral shrines of the Ọba and were primarily made as a historical record for documenting events. For the Edo people, the white colour of ivory represents the purity of spirituality. The Ọba owns one tusk from every elephant killed by right and reserves the right to buy the other one. Aken’ni Elao are placed in the opening in commemorative heads at the ancestral altar. Barbara Blackmun (1984) speculated that the Igbesanmwan began carving tusks specifically for altars around 1750 during the reign of Ọba Akengbuda. According to reports by members of the British in 1897, carved ivory tusks were found on altars in Ọba Palace. Owing to the destructive nature of the , and because so little was recorded, it has been difficult for scholars to reconstruct the exact ways tusks were used or their number (Blackmun, 1983, p.60). However, a rare image taken by Cyril Punch in 1892 shows an altar with tusks and other objects arranged on top. It is believed that tusks – carved and plain – were mounted on bronze commemorative heads and placed on royal altars. This category includes whole tusks as well as fragments.
Object count
object count
1
Associated Guild
producer
Igbesamwan
Production Place
production place
Benin City
URL
weblink
https://digitalbenin.org/catalogue/36_79BR138
Production Technique
production technique
Carving
P.N.
object id
Dimension H (cm)
dimensions
Dimension W (cm)
dimensions
Dimension L (cm)
dimensions
Diameter
dimensions
Title
designation
Date Made
date made
Inscription
inscriptions
fileNames
79BR138_3.jpg, 79BR138_2.jpg, 79BR138_1.jpg
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

Info
About
Other