Catalogue
Inventory no. [ObjInventarNrS]
12214
Institution
Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt am Main
Edo designations
English designations
Ceremonial Sword
Categories
Ceremonial Objects
Location
Schaumainkai 29-37, 60594 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Ceremonial Sword
Ceremonial Sword

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

1 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
12214
Object designation [ObjTitelOriginalS]
designation
object type
Ceremonial sword
Description [ObjReserve02M]
description
12214. OrNr. 22 137. Wide, leaf-shaped, openwork blade. Transverse large ring handle. Repair irons applied to both sides in several places. Braided bars in the hilt partially detached. Overall badly damaged and broken, partly old mended (Ugie Erha Oba-Fest). "The main ceremony is a lavish affair. Chiefs wear their most expensive costumes and dance with a ceremonial sword, eben, each trying to outdo the others in elegance and grace. The king wears his most elaborate beaded outfit and he, too dances with an eben - the highlight of the ceremony - before his father's altar. (85) LIT Pitt-Rivers 1976: pl XLII, 326, 327 - Bronze pl XLIII, 328, 329 - Eisen Ben Amos. 1980: The Art of Benin. London
Mat./Technique [ObjTechMatM]
material
Iron
Dimensions [ObjMasse1S]
dimensions
L c. 97
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

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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