ID_NUMBER
nn9541
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

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
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 February 1897 Unknown member of the British colonial military campaign on Benin from Benin Kingdom.
Unknown
February 22, 1897 (day approximate) to 2005
The object is known to have come into contact with the Horniman Museum and Gardens, later in London.
Restitution
November 28, 2022
The object was restituted by the Horniman Museum and Gardens to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria from London to Nigeria.

Institution data

Horniman Museum and Gardens
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2022-09-01
Language: english
Institution fieldValue
ID_NUMBER
object id
nn9541
ITEM_NAME
designation
plaques (art)
DESCRIPTION
description
Fragment of Benin plaque - see also nn9542, nn9543
MATERIALS
material
brass
MEASUREMENTS
dimensions
DATE_MADE
date made
PLACE_MADE
production place
Nigeria, West Africa, Africa
CULTURE
ethnic attribution
Benin
CATEGORY1
Anthropology: Ethnography
Sensitive Content

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