Inventory no. [ObjInventarNrS]
13600
Edo designations
English designations
Ancestral Staff
Categories
Altar & Shrine Objects
Staffs
Location
Schaumainkai 29-37, 60594 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Ancestral Staff
Ancestral Staff

Provenance

4 events
Production
unknown to February 22, 1897 (day approximate)
The object was produced by Unknown member(s) of the Igbesamwan 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
13600
Object designation [ObjTitelOriginalS]
designation
object type
Altar stick
Description [ObjReserve02M]
description
13600. End anthropomorphic head, below band with cowry body. Then checkerboard hatched fields, slot for rattle body. Bottom 4-fold double conical set off. Purchase price 75.- "The one .. surmounted by a human head, represents generalized ancestors and is for a commoner's paternal ancestral altar (Text zu pl. 58) The rattle staff is both a means of communication with the spirit world, achieved when the staff is struck upon the ground, and a staff of authority, to be wielded only by the properly designated person. In this way it is related to a variety of royal staffs of authority. ... Ideally, these cult staffs are obtained from the urban carvers' guild, igbesanmwan, who are supposed to have a monopoly on their production, but in actuality local village age-grade members often produce them when needed for their own cults. Most village cult shrines consist of these rattle staffs, pots with magical ingredients and pieces of kaolin chalk. (56f) The commoner's paternal ancestral altar is a rectangular platform. Resting upon the wall are wooden staffs uhurhe, with a human head carved on top of each of them. If any predecessor of the present senior son had a title or was a well-known priest, his ceremonial sword, ada, might be found among the staffs. At least one rectangular bell is placed towards the fron, where it can be easily rung to announce the commencement of a service. At the very fron the presence of a celt or "thunderstone" siginifies the sudden and dreadful power of Ogiuwu, the god of death." (60) LIT Ben Amos: The Art of Benin. London 1980, p. 56ff
Mat./Technique [ObjTechMatM]
material
Wood. Cowry case
Dimensions [ObjMasse1S]
dimensions
L 1235
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
03
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]
Rite/Cult
Type of ownership [ObjFeld01M]
Type of person 2 [KueTypS_1]
Type of person [KueTypS_0]
Person
Sensitive Content

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