Inventory no. [ObjInventarNrS]
12181
Edo designations
Ada
Ada
English designations
Ceremonial Sword
Categories
Ceremonial Objects
Location
Schaumainkai 29-37, 60594 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Ceremonial Sword
Ceremonial Sword

Iconographies

1 annotations
Aghadaghada
Crossroads

According to , this motif is known as Aghadaghada, a “play on the word ada,” meaning “crossroads.” The design appears as a background motif on a small number of Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques) and is associated with Olokun and the period of close contact between the Benin Kingdom and the Portuguese Empire during the reigns of Ọba Ọzọlua, Ọba Ẹsigie, and Ọba Orhogbua ( ). At the time of Ben-Amos’s research, the same symbol was drawn in chalk at the centre of Olokun shrine courtyards in Benin City. described the design more literally as a “circled cross” and suggested that the Ama-Eronmwon bearing this background motif may have been cast by a particular ‘master’ or member of the Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn.

More broadly, the cross, with its four points, references the number four, which has significance in Edo belief: the Edo week consists of four days, and each day is divided into four parts ( ). Other cross forms are treated as distinct motifs and are discussed separately under Uman-Ague (equal-armed cross).

1 annotation
Aghadaghada

Provenance

4 events
Production
unknown to February 22, 1897 (day approximate)
The object was produced by Unknown member(s) of the Igun-Ematon 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
1902 (approximate) to 1910 (approximate)
The object is known to have come into contact with William Ockelford Oldman, later in London.
Purchase
1910 (approximate)
The object was purchased by the Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt am Main from William Ockelford Oldman from London to Frankfurt.

Related archival documents

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Institution data

Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt am Main
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2021-04-20
Language: english
Institution fieldValue
Inventory no. [ObjInventarNrS]
object id
12181
Object designation [ObjTitelOriginalS]
designation
object type
Ceremonial sword
Description [ObjReserve02M]
description
12181. Curved blade, iron, covered with copper sheet, engraved circle with knot ornament. Same ornament on both sides. Handle incomplete, copper overlay broken. Damaged overall. Restoration: Heinrich Scheich "Art forms crucial to status differentiation and religious worship are attributed to Ogiso times, particularly ... the ceremonial sword (ada) .. (14) In Ogiso times the iron ceremonial sword called ada was part of the furnishings of the ancestral altar, where it expressed the power of the ancestors to control the course of events. The Edo believe that iron has the mystical power of ase to insure that whatever proclamations are made will come to pass. In the second dynasty the obas took to making public appearances accompanied by pages carrying the ada, thereby incorporating an ancient Edo sanction into the new royal symbolism. (15). Zu Abb. 11: The ada is carried by pages emada during the public appearances of the oba. It symbolizes his right to take human life. The oba delegates the ada to high ranking chiefs, who may have it carried alongside them in their own domains but not in the palace. 15./16.Jh. "Specific objects, such as ada were sent to vassal lords as emblems of their authority." (18) As an abstract concept Ogun represents the force inherent in metal, a mystical power with the potential to create or destroy. In this capacity, Ogun cannot be artistically represented, except indirectly through those objects in which the power of metal resides, such as ceremonial swords or proclamation staffs. (51) LIT Kat Pitt-Rivers 1976: pl. XVIII, 110 Ben Amos. 1980: The Art of Benin. London
Mat./Technique [ObjTechMatM]
material
Iron. Copper sheet
Dimensions [ObjMasse1S]
dimensions
L 90
Dating [ObjDatierungS]
date made
Year from [ObjJahrVonL]
date made
Year until [ObjJahrBisL]
date made
Geographical reference [ObjGeografieS]
production place
Kingdom of Benin (Africa->West Africa->Nigeria)
Name sorting [KueSortierungS_0]
prior source
Oldman, William Ockelford
Name sorting [KueSortierungS_1]
prior source
First Name 2 [KueVorNameS_1]
provenance
First name [KueVorNameS_0]
provenance
William Ockelford
Function collector 2 [OkuFunktionS_1]
provenance
Function collector [OkuFunktionS_0]
provenance
Merchant
Inventory note [ObjFeld07M]
provenance
Last Name 2 [KueNameS_1]
provenance
Last name [KueNameS_0]
provenance
Oldman
Date of acquisition[ObjFeld04M]
accession date
ca. 1910
Acquisition type [ObjFeld02M]
accession method
Comemnts[ObjCreditlineM]
notes
Exhibition
exhibition history
Literature
bibliography
Type [ObjSystematikS]
Ceremonial device
Type of ownership [ObjFeld01M]
Type of person 2 [KueTypS_1]
Type of person [KueTypS_0]
Person
Sensitive Content

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