ID
211150
Edo designations
English designations
Relief Plaque
Categories
Palace Architecture & Ornamentation
Location
1 Adesogbe (Plymouth) Road, P.M.B. 1115, Benin City , Edo State
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Relief Plaque
Relief Plaque
Relief Plaque
Relief Plaque
Relief Plaque
Relief Plaque
Relief Plaque

Iconographies

2 annotations
Water fern
Ebe Amẹ
Water Fern

Ebe Amẹ refers to a wide variety of plants, particularly the leaves of the water fern or river leaf, found in riverine areas of southern Nigeria ( ). Artists from the Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn used these as a decorative motif in the background of most Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques). The petals of the Ebe Amẹ, like the points of the ἀghàdàgháda (crossroads), represent the four cardinal directions: north, east, south, and west. The number four plays a foundational role in the Edo calendar, which is structured around four market days ( ).

1 annotation
Ebe Amẹ
Ehẹn
Fish

Ehẹn is a general term used to describe various types of fish (Ọbazee 2025, p. 90; ). Although mudfish are one of the most common motifs in Benin art, other kinds of fish are also represented. According to Blackmun ( ), a greater variety of fish are represented on the Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks) than on other types of royal artefacts. According to Kathy Curnow ( ), fish appear on 70 Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques), making them the most commonly represented animal. Despite their prevalence, the precise species of fish are not easy to identify due to their “generic renderings”, possibly indicating that artists did not always distinguish between specific varieties ( ). Fish are represented on the Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn both in profile and from above.

1 annotation
Ehẹn

Provenance

7 events
Production
1504 (approximate) to 1550 (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 Ralph Denham Rayment Moor from Benin Kingdom.
Transfer
March 19, 1897 (day approximate)
The object was transferred from Ralph Denham Rayment Moor to British Foreign Office from Benin City to London.
Loan
September 7, 1897 to January 1898 (month approximate)
The object was loaned by British Foreign Office to the British Museum through Crown Agents for the Colonies in London.
Unknown
January 1898 (month approximate) to 1899
The object is known to have come into contact with Hans Meyer, in London and later Leipzig.
Donation
1899
The object was donated by Hans Meyer to the Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin from Leipzig to Berlin.
Restitution
August 25, 2022
The object was restituted by the Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria through Hermann Parzinger and Abba Isa Tijani from Berlin to Nigeria.

Related archival documents

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Date

Institution data

Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2021-06-14
Language: german
Institution fieldValue
ID
object id
211150
Sachbegriff
designation
Sachbegriff: Reliefplatte
Titel
designation
Titel: Zwei Fische
Objektref.
description
VIII A 10818, Positiv, SW, Reliefplatte, Bronze, Kurt Grunst (*04.04.1921); E 1370/1898, Erwerbung: I/19/1899: III C 8248-8280, gegossene Platten (Benin), Schenkung Dr. Hans Meyer in Leipzig - Kultus Ministerium U. IV 4320: Allerh. Gehnemigung zur Annahme der Schenkung, 1898, Hans Meyer (22.3.1858 - 5.7.1929)
Texte Online
description
Online Beschreibung, [Benin_Königreich]
Material / Technik
material
Material: Messing; Ausgabe: Messing
Material / Technik // Alle
material
Messing, Messing
Maße
dimensions
46,00 x 17,00 cm; 3,40 kg
Objekttyp
object type
Allgemein
Sachbegr. Ausgabe
object type
Reliefplatte (Relief plaque)
Anzahl Teile
object count
1
Datierung
date made
16. Jh.
Geogr. Bezüge
production place
Nigeria ( Land ); Benin ( Königreich )
Geogr. Bezüge // Alle
production place
Benin, Nigeria
Beteiligte
prior source
Hans Meyer (22.3.1858 - 5.7.1929), Sammler
Beteiligte // (Name, Sortierung=kleinste)
prior source
Meyer, Hans
Veräußerer
prior source
null
Erwerb. Notiz
provenance
Notiz: Rückführung Wiesbaden; Ausgabe: 16. Jh., im Auftrag von Oba Esigie (reg. 1517-1550) oder seines Sohnes Oba Orhogbua (reg. 1550-1570), Königspalast, Benin-Stadt; durch Erbschaft an Oba Ovonramwen (ca. 1857-1914; reg. 1888-97), Königspalast, Benin-Stadt; geplündert im Zusammenhang mit der britischen Eroberung von Benin, 1897; gekauft von Hans Meyer, zwischen 1897 und 1898; geschenkt an das Königliche Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin, 1899.
Verw. Institution
department and institution
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Erwerb. Datum
accession date
1899
Besitzart
accession method
Erwerbungsart
accession method
Schenkung
Digital Assets
images
Vorlage; Vorlage; Vorlage; Vervielfältigung; Vorlage; Vervielfältigung; Vorlage; III C 8269.JPG, Repro Digitalisat; III C 8269 -B.JPG, Repro Digitalisat; III C 8269 -C.JPG, Repro Digitalisat; III C 8269 -D.JPG, Repro Digitalisat; III C 8269 -E.JPG, Repro Digitalisat; III C 8269 -F.JPG, Repro Digitalisat
Erwerb. Nr.
I/19/1899
Ident. Nr.
III C 8269
Ident. Nr. // (Sortiernr.)
0003 C 08269
Obj. Status
vorhanden
Sensitive Content

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