Iconographies

1 annotations

Ahianmwẹ

Birds

See Ahianmwẹ page

A variety of different kinds of Ahianmwẹ (birds) were depicted by artists from the palace guilds on royal artefacts over the centuries. The precise identification and interpretation of these birds, and the meanings attributed to them, vary. Some of the most commonly depicted are the Akala (white-backed vulture), Oɛɣohɔ (vulturine fish eagle), and Esughusughu (owl).

The Akala is usually depicted on top of Osogan, potent staffs kept by priests for the worship of Osun. Its ewawa (beak) is associated with the azen (witches), and the Akala is associated with “death, abandonment, morbidity, and spoils” ( ). The Oɛɣohɔ is known as the “king of the day birds,” and its feathers are often worn by chiefs in their headwear as symbols of respected old age and proper chieftaincy ( ).

1 annotation

Provenance

4 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 February 1897 Unknown member of the British colonial military campaign on Benin from Benin Kingdom.

Unknown

February 22, 1897 (year approximate) to 1935

The object is known to have come into contact with Charles Alfred Marius Ratton, later in Paris.

Auction

May 13, 1980

The object was auctioned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art through Christie's and Jacob S. Rogers Fund in London.

Institution data

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The data was downloaded via a public data access of the institution.

Last updated: 2025-06-02

Language: english

Institution field	Value
Is Highlight	False
Is Timeline Work	False
Is Public Domain license	True
Object ID object id	314221
Department department and institution	Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
AccessionYear accession date	1980
Object Name object type	Altar ring
Title designation	Altar Ring
Culture ethnic attribution	Lower Niger Bronze Industry
Object Date date made	15th–19th century
Object Begin Date date made	1400
Object End Date date made	1897
Medium material	Bronze
Dimensions dimensions	Diam. 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Credit Line prior source	Rogers Fund, 1980
Country production place	Nigeria
River place collected	Lower Niger River region
Classification object type	Metal-Sculpture
Link Resource weblink	http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/314221
Repository department and institution	Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Tags iconography	Birds
Tags AAT URL iconography	http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300266506
Tags Wikidata URL iconography	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5113

Sensitive Content

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