Accession Number: (Registration Details)/Accession Details/Accession Number/Accession No.: (Accession Details)

0.9321/6

Institution

Manchester Museum

Edo designations

Agba

English designations

Stool

Iconographies

2 annotations

Elukeluke / Etuoo

Tortoise

See Elukeluke / Etuoo page

The Elukeluke/Etuoo (tortoise) holds diverse symbolic meanings and associations, including with Ogun (god of war), pride, and trickery ( ). The tortoise is one of the rarest animals depicted on the Emwin Arhe (royal treasures); however, it was used by some carvers of the Igbesamwan to decorate the Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks) and some ivory Ẹgogo (gongs). According to Hans Melzian ( ), the Elukeluke has two praise names: “the thing that swaggers proudly” and “the thing that walks like a cripple.” Both praise names, although contradictory, evoke descriptions of Ọba Ohẹn, who was paralysed from the waist down and attempted to deceive the royal court about this fact.

The Elukeluke appears in stories as an “ambitious and cunning” animal ( ) and is often seen as a cautionary figure in Edo oral tradition. Priestess Azaigueni Aghahowa ( ) described the Elukeluke as a “great liar” who, in the form of a human, had attempted to deceive an Ọba. On discovering the deceit, “the Ọba cursed his house, which fell upon the tortoise's back and crushed it, becoming a part of him. From that time forward his deceitful character has been publicly acknowledged, because ‘he hides his body’.”

1 annotation

Ẹmila

Cattle (dwarf mutu cow)

See Ẹmila page

Ẹmila are used mainly for social functions. Although, they maybe used by some affluent chiefs and the royal palace for ceremonial purposes

1 annotation

Provenance

7 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 from February 1897 Unknown member of the British colonial military campaign on Benin from Benin Kingdom.

Unknown

February 22, 1897 (day approximate) to 1900

The object is known to have come into contact with William Downing Webster, later in London.

Purchase

February 22, 1897 (day approximate) to 1900

The object was purchased by Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers (Lane Fox) and Farnham Pitt-Rivers Museum from William Downing Webster from London to Farnham.

Auction

1900

The object was auctioned to B. G. L. Killerby through Stevens Auction Rooms in London.

Purchase

1903

The object was purchased by Salford Salford Museum and Art Gallery from B. G. L. Killerby with its destination in Salford.

Exchange

June 6, 1969

The object was exchanged between Salford Salford Museum and Art Gallery and the Manchester Museum from Salford to Manchester.

Institution data

Manchester Museum

The data was transferred directly by the institution.

Last updated: 2022-06-24

Language: english

Institution field	Value
Accession Number: (Registration Details)/Accession Details/Accession Number/Accession No.: (Accession Details) object id	0.9321/6
Physical Description designation description	A carved table top, carved from a single slab of hard, dark wood. The central figure is of a man on horseback facing to the left. Behind him is a man in a boat and before him is a man holding a spear, and both are attached to the central figure with chain
Object Name/Object Name: (Classification) object type	Table Furniture
Place: (Production Details) production place	Africa, Nigeria, Benin
Accession Lot: (Collection Details)/Accession Lot: (Accession Details) prior source	[0.9321, 0.9322 and 0.9323] Salford Museum (Exchange, 06/06/1969)
Origin provenance	Nigeria, Benin. Acquired by Salford Museum and Art Gallery in 1903 and given the accession number 248. The Salford accession register describes the item as: ‘Table-top of dark wood; intricately carved with figures & in the middle, a man on a horse with high-pommelled saddle and stirrups. The hind legs of the horse are flected like those of an elephant. In front stands a man with a barbed spear. He holds in the right hand (his wrist being grasped by the mounted man) an object which might be the lid of a basket, a basket which is possibly represented under the horse’s nose. Astern of the horse is a warrior in what may be meant for a fort or a canoe. He holds a drawn sword and a chain. Other objects are kegs, a goblet, calabashes, man with a pipe, tortoise, horses’ heads, eels or serpents. On four edges, twisted interlaced ornament carved. The legs (which are absent) were like those of No. 247, mortised into the top; being secured there by large-headed iron nails, of which five remain. This table-top was taken at the fall of Benin City, West Africa, in February, 1897, by the British Punitive Expedition under the command of Admiral Rawson. Benin, West Africa. Purchased with No. 247 from Mr. B. G. L. Killerby, Bedwell Farm, Stevenage, Herts, for £6-6-0.’ B.G.L. Killerby wrote to Salford Museum and Art Gallery in September and October 1903 with the intention of selling this carving as a pair with 0.9321/5. In a letter dated 14 September 1903 he states the following: ‘I beg to enclose two illustrations showing ethnological specimens of carved wood, from Benin City, West Africa, taken at the fall of the City in February 1897 by the British Punitive Expedition , under the command of Admiral Rawson. The illustrations are from Mr Websters Catalogue and he sold the pieces originally for the price of £20 + £4.10.0. I am asking £10.10.0 for the two and if you think they would be suitable for your museum I shall be very pleased to send them on approval.’ Killerby presents himself as an adept ethnographic dealer and references several high profile collectors, collections and catalogues in his correspondence. He claims that the carvings belonged to Augustus Pitt Rivers and upon his death in 1900 were sold at Staren’s Auction Rooms in London, where he purchased them. A further line of inquiry would involve confirming this claim and the presence of the carvings in one of William Downing Webster’s series of illustrated catalogues of ethnographic collections, a catalogue which Killerby references twice as ‘Mr Websters Catalogue’.
Current Location/Current Location: (Current Location) display status	[CP1/B56/102/B/Box] Manchester Museum - Coupland 1 - Basement - B.56 - Ethnology Store - Cupboard 102 - Shelf B - In Box
Copyright license	© The Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester Images (.tiff): © The Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, photography by Michael Pollard
Correspondence Transcripts

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