Identifikationsnummer

C 4044

Institution

Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria

Restituted

Previously owned by MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt

Edo designations

Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn

English designations

Relief Plaque

Fragment

Iconographies

2 annotations

Ebe Amẹ

Water Fern

See Ebe Amẹ page

Ebe Amẹ refers to a wide variety of plants, particularly the leaves of the water fern or river leaf, found in riverine areas of southern Nigeria ( ). Artists from the Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn used these as a decorative motif in the background of most Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques). The petals of the Ebe Amẹ, like the points of the ἀghàdàgháda (crossroads), represent the four cardinal directions: north, east, south, and west. The number four plays a foundational role in the Edo calendar, which is structured around four market days ( ).

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

6 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

1904 (approximate)

The object is known to have come into contact with Bernhard Adolf Heemke, in Benin City.

Transfer

1904 (approximate)

The object was transferred from Bernhard Adolf Heemke through Bey & Co. from Benin City to Hamburg.

Purchase

1904

The object was purchased by the MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt from Bernhard Adolf Heemke in Hamburg.

Restitution

December 16, 2022

The object was restituted by the MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria through Carsten Brosda, S.E. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Abba Isa Tijani and Barbara Plankensteiner from Hamburg to Nigeria.

Institution data

MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt

The data was transferred directly by the institution.

Last updated: 2022-06-10

Languages: german, english

Institution field	Value
Identifikationsnummer object id	C 4044
Titel designation	Reliefplatte (Fragment), Rindskopf
Materialien material	ANORGANISCH/Metall/Gelbguß
Heutiges Staatsgebiet des Herstellungsortes production place	Afrika/Westafrika/Nigeria/Benin-Reich
Provenienz/Name prior source provenance	Heemke
Provenienz Objektitinerar Akteure Orte Daten provenance	Adolf Heemke
Provenienz/Affiliation provenance	H. Bey & Co., Bey & Zimmer
Provenienz/Country provenance	Germany
Provenienz/Date of Birth provenance	8.10.1874
Provenienz/Date of Death provenance	unknown
Provenienz/First Name provenance	Adolf
Provenienz/No provenance	15
Provenienz/Place of Birth provenance	Geestemüde/Bremerhaven
Provenienz/Place of Death provenance	unknown
Provenienz/Profession provenance	Merchant
Provenienz/Role-Function/0 provenance	Consignor
Provenienz/Role-Function/1 provenance
Provenienz/Sex provenance	male
Provenienz/Short Biography provenance	Adolf Heemke (1874-?)was an overseas merchant and active as an agent for the trading company Bey & Zimmer in Nigeria. Today, works of art Heemke brought from Benin to Europe are still in collections in Stuttgart and Freiburg. In 1904, he sold ten Benin objects to the MARKK.
Provenienz/Street provenance	Große Bäckerstraße 24
Provenienz/Town provenance	Hamburg
Hersteller kulturhist. Herkunftsgesellschaft ethnic attribution	--/Edo
Heutiger Aufbewahrungsort Sammlung department and institution	Museum am Rothenbaum. Kulturen und Künste der Welt (MARKK)
Akquisitionsdatum accession date	1904
Alte Inventarnummer
Inventurdatum	23.07.2015
Label Text (deu)	Reliefplatte (Fragment): Rindskopf Unbekannte Werkstatt der Bronzegießergilde Igun Eronmwon / Königreich Benin, Nigeria, 16./17. Jh. / Gelbguss / Ankauf von Adolf Heemke, 1904, Inv. Nr. C 4044 Einige Reliefplatten bilden wertvolle Opfergaben ab, die während bestimmter Zeremonien dargebracht wurden. Das Rind gilt bis heute als eines der kostbarsten Opfer zur Ehrung der Ahnen während des jährlichen Igue-Festes, in dessen Mittelpunkt die Erneuerung der mystischen Kräfte des Oba steht.
Label Text (eng)	Relief Plaque (Fragment): Cow Head Unidentified workshop of the Bronze Casters Guild Igun Eronmwon / Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, 16th/17th century / Brass / Acquired from Adolf Heemke, 1904, Inv. no. C 4044 Some relief plaques depict precious offerings made during certain ceremonies. To this day a cow is considered one of the most precious sacrifices to honour the ancestors during the annual Igue festival. It is held to renew the mystical powers of the Oba.
Maße	Breite: 17,30 cm; Höhe: 23,00 cm; Tiefe: 6,60 cm

Sensitive Content

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Iconographies

Provenance

Related archival documents

Institution data