Photograph Album
Unit
W. D. Webster photograph album
Institution
British Museum Date
January 1, 1898 to December 31, 1899
Actors
Source actors
Webster, William Downing
Mentioned actors
Taphouse, Thomas William
Pitt-Rivers (Lane Fox), Augustus Henry
Staatliche Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsen und Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
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Edo designations mentioned
7
items
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Institution data
| Institution field | Value |
|---|---|
Reg No. | Af,A154.56 |
PRN | EPF11312 |
Add ID/s | 7272 (William Webster number)~7277 (William Webster number)~7307-12 (William Webster numbers)~7314-16 (William Webster numbers)~7318 (William Webster number)~7320 (William Webster number)~7324-7 (William Webster numbers)~7361 (William Webster number) |
Bibliography | King & Waterfield 2006: ~Webster 1898-9: Cat.21, figs.142-160.~Webster 1898-9: Cat.21, figs.143-160 |
Title/s | Benin Bronzes and Ivories (Series) |
Object Name/s | photographic print (black and white)~album |
Material/s | paper |
Technique/s | photographic process |
Description (full) | Photograph (black and white); mounted on card, part of a bound album. View of eighteen objects: two ivory armlets; three brass quadrangular bells; two brass conical bells; one iron bell; one cross; one brass figure holding sword; two pottery vessels; one brass cockerel figure; one animal-headed staff top; one brass figure holding shield aloft; one drum; one brass seated European figure; one commemorative terracotta head. Photographic process. |
Dimension/s | Height: 24.00 cm (page)~Width: 27.40 cm (page) |
Subject/s | |
Previous Owner | Previous owner/ex-collection: William Downing Webster |
Date/s | 1898-1899 (circa) |
Prod. Place/s | Photographed in: London |
Assoc. Ethnic Name/s | Associated with: Edo |
Assoc. Place/s | Associated with: Benin City |
Assoc. Event/s | Associated Event: British Expedition to Benin City - 1897 |
Inscription/s | Inscription:~ Inscription details: inscription (front of mount; below photograph) in English~ Inscription quoted: 143. Ivory armlet. £7.10.0. sold to. Dresden Museum. 144. Bronze bell. £3.0.0. sold to. 145. Bronze cross. £2.0.0. sold to. 146. Iron bell. sold to. 147. Ivory armlet. 10.0 sold to 148. Bronze figure. £15.15.0. sold to Leiden Museum 149. Pottery vase. 10.0. sold to Leiden Museum. 150. Bronze bell. £1.15.0. sold to Dresden Museum. 151. Bronze cock. £10.0.0. sold to 152. Bronze bell. £2.0.0. sold to 153. Bronze rams head. £7.10.0. Gen Pitt-Rivers. 154. Bronze figure. £5.0.0. sold to. 155. Wood drum £1.0.0. sold to. Taphouse. Oxford. 156. Bronze figure. £5.0.0. sold to Gen. Pitt-Rivers. 157. Bronze bell. 10.0. sold to. 158. Pottery mask base. £5.0.0. Gen. Pitt-Rivers. 159. Bronze bell. £2.10.0. sold to. 160. Pottery vase. £1.15.0. sold to. Leiden Museum.~ Inscription note: Handwritten in black ink. Description of objects from the Kingdom of Benin, with indicative purchase prices and names of some vendors. |
Curator's Comment/s | This album contains photographs of objects from the Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria sold by the London-based dealer, William Downing Webster. Many of the photographs are annotated with information relating to the vendor/s and some include purchase prices. It is likely that the photographic series was compiled by Webster in the early 1900s. The objects depicted in this photograph were sold by William Webster as follows: 143. to Arthur Baessler in 1899. Donated by Baessler in same year to the Staatliche Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsen - Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden. Accession number: 16098. 144. to J. C. Stevens auction house before 1913. Purchased by London-based dealer, William Oldman before 1916. Purchased by Oric Bates by 1916. Donated by Bates in 1916 to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, USA. Accession number: 16-43-50/B1491. 145. to the MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt, Hamburg in 1900. Accession number: C 2874. 146. to the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge in 1902. Accession number: E1902.438. 147. to J.C.Stevens auction house. Purchased by Theodor Rautenstrauch on 30 June 1902. Donated by Rautenstrauch in same year to the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Cologne. Accession number: RJM 5249. 148. to the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum, Leiden in 1900. Accession number: RV-1243-13. 149. to the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum, Leiden in 1900. Accession number: RV-1243-2. 150. to Arthur Baessler in 1899. Donated by Baessler in same year to the Staatliche Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsen - Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden. Accession number: 16101. 151. unknown. 152. unknown. 153. to General Pitt Rivers by 1900. 154. unknown. 155. to Taphouse collection of musical instruments, Oxford by 1913. Donated by Mrs A. W. F. Fuller in 1963 to the Field Museum, Chicago. Accession number: 210324. 156. to General Pitt Rivers in 1899. Probably by descent through Pitt Rivers family to date unknown. By 1982 in collection of Alan Brandt, New York. Purchased by Mr & Mrs Klaus G. Perls, New York in 1991. Donated by the Perls in same year to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Accession number: 1991.17.31. 157. to the Field Museum, Chicago in 1905. Accession number: 89751. 158. to General Augustus Pitt Rivers by 1900. By descent through Pitt Rivers family to 1960s. Purchased by Robert (Robin) Owen Lehman in early 1970s. Donated by Lehman to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA in 2013. Accession number: 2013.1732. 159. unknown. 160. to the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum, Leiden. Accession number: RV-1243-3. |
URL | https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/EA_Af-A154-56 |
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