Catalogue
Registration number
Af1979,01.4757
Institution
British Museum
Edo designations
English designations
Bell
Categories
Altar & Shrine Objects
Musical Instruments
Location
Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG, United Kingdom
Bell
Bell
Bell
Bell
Bell

Provenance

4 events
Production
1500 (year approximate) 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
1920s to 1939
The object is known to have come into contact with Harry Geoffrey Beasley, Irene Marguerite Beasley and Cranmore Ethnographical Museum, later in Chislehurst.
Unknown
1939 (approximate) to 1974
The object is known to have come into contact with the British Museum, Harry Geoffrey Beasley and Irene Marguerite Beasley, later in London.

Related archival documents

1 documents
See all
An archival document representing a Auction Catalog of 48 page(s)
Auction Catalogue
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Thomas J. Watson Library sales and auction catalogues
Date
March 3, 1975

Institution data

British Museum
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2025-06-10
Language: english
Institution fieldValue
Registration number
object id
Af1979,01.4757
PRN
object id
EAF33882
Object Type
designation
bell
Description
description
Bell; lost-wax cast in brass. Quadrangular in form with human face on front set within braided cartouche. Braidwork around base, top and handle. Small balls of brass at each corner. Loop handle with iron clapper attached though hole in top. Lettering in gold on front.
Ethnic name (made by)
ethnic attribution
Edo (?)
Date
16thC-19thC
Production place
production place
Made in: Benin City (?)
Findspot
place collected
Found/Acquired: Benin City (?)
Materials
material
brass ~iron
Technique
production technique
lost-wax cast
Dimensions
dimensions
Height: 17.50 cm~Width: 9.00 cm~Depth: 7.50 cm
Inscription
inscriptions
Inscription:~ Inscription details: inscription (front of bell) in English~ Inscription quoted: Benin City Feb-y 18th 1897~ Inscription note: Refers to British to Benin City in 1897.
Curator’s comments
provenance
An eben sword with the same inscription is known in the collections of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge - See Z 20437
Condition
condition
Fair. Single hole at left proper side. Multiple holes at right proper side.
Associated events
event
Associated Event: British to Benin City - Feb 1897
Acquisition name (previous)
provenance
Previous owner/ex-collection: Harry Geoffrey Beasley
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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