Inventarisnummer
RV-1243-25
Edo designations
English designations
Smoking Pipe
Location
1 Adesogbe (Plymouth) Road, P.M.B. 1115, Benin City , Edo State
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Smoking Pipe
Smoking Pipe
Smoking Pipe

Provenance

5 events
Production
unknown to February 22, 1897 (day 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.
Auction
February 22, 1897 (day approximate) to December 7, 1899
The object was auctioned to William Downing Webster through Stevens Auction Rooms in London.
Purchase
February 1900
The object was purchased by the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum from William Downing Webster through Johannes Dietrich Eduard Schmeltz, Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia van Waldeck-Pyrmont from London to Leiden.
Restitution
June 21, 2025
The object was restituted by the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria through Olugbile Holloway and Eppo Bruins from Netherlands to Nigeria.

Related archival documents

3 documents
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Date
Date
Date

Institution data

Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen and Wereldmuseum
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2022-07-19
Language: dutch
Institution fieldValue
Inventarisnummer
object id
RV-1243-25
Objectnaam
designation
object type
Pijpenkop
Titel
designation
object type
Kop van tabakspijp
Associatie/beschrijving (online getoond)
description
De kop van een tabakspijp.
Materiaal en techniek (NB: ook thesaurustermen aanpassen!)
material
messing ; gegoten ('cire perdue'-techniek)
Afmetingenlabel (H x B x D)
dimensions
16,5 x 18 x 10,3
Datering
date made
voor 1900
Verzamelgeschiedenis (toelichting)
provenance
The acquisition of 53 Benin objects (RV-1243-1 to -46 and RV-1295-2 to -7) from William Downing Webster (1868-1913), a British ethnographic art dealer and collector, known to have assembled a large collection from the Benin military campaign of 1897, is characterised by budgeting issues (Waterfield & King 2006: 55-63). When Johannes Schmeltz received a first letter from Webster on 7 December 1899 with a list of Benin objects offered for sale, he realised it would need fundraising on his part to acquire this important collection (NL-LdnRMV-A1-30-542/545). Schmeltz managed to secure funds from, amongst others, Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina, and the Queen Mother, Princess Emma van Waldeck-Pyrmont. The Queen Mother’s secretary sent a letter to Schmeltz confirming the donation for the purchase of the Benin objects on 8 June 1900 (NL-LdnRMV-A1-31-344/345; CL-L: Nl- LdnRMV_A01_277_00109; AR-L 1899-1900: 13; MR-L: NL-LdnRMV_A03_007_0237). All the financial donors were listed in the Nederlandsche Staatscourant, the Dutch national state newspaper on 25 April 1902. While on 16 February 1900 Schmeltz writes to Webster that he wants ‘the greatest part’ of the objects offered to him but that he has not yet found the money to pay for them (NL-LdnRMV-A1-210-531/534), the first purchase of 30 objects was confirmed in the day book on 26 February 1900 and included one object from the Admiralty Islands (DB-L: NL-LdnRMV-A3-7-237). In a letter to Schmeltz dated 17 February 1900, Webster includes a newspaper clipping mentioning that he bought the objects at the J.C. Stevens auction. By doing this, he also gives evidence of the current prices of Benin objects (NL-LdnRMV-A1-31-505/506). This object was sold for 2.10.0 GBP (now ca. 272 GBP). All the objects that had been sent to the Netherlands for viewing and had not been selected were sent back. Also, some of the objects were first registered as loans, allowing Schmeltz to secure the funds to buy them as they were considered important: ‘From the objects still on loan some deserve to be mentioned here already as especially noteworthy.’ Two men, Elco M. Vis and R. Langenbach enabled the procurement of some loan objects: ‘Because of the gentlemen Elco M. Vis in Amsterdam and R. Langenbach in Worms, yours truly was able to once more purchase one of the objects on loan from the Kingdom of Benin [serie 1243].’ The plates in the annual report show that Schmeltz, used the donations to acquire Webster collections (series RV-1243) and Umlauff collections (series RV-1286, series RV-1310) as the money became available, irrespective of which artworks he had received on view first. (Excerpt from Provenance no. 2 'The Benin collections at the National Museum of World Cultures' written by Rosalie Hans with Annette Schmidt, 05-01-2021)
Cultuur (NB: ook thesaurusterm aanpassen!)
ethnic attribution
Bini
Deelcollectie
department and institution
Materiële cultuurcollectie
Verwervingsdatum
accession date
1900-02-01
Wijze van verwerving
accession method
Aankoop
Literatuur
bibliography
Publicaties over het object
bibliography
Webster, W.D. 1889-1899. Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnographical Specimens, European and Eastern Arms and Armour, Prehistoric and Other Curiosities. Vol. 3. No. 18 to 23. Bicester: W.D. Webster. Figure 10 in no. 21. For more information about the provenance, see <a href="https://issuu.com/tropenmuseum/docs/2021_provenance_2__benin__e-book" target="_blank"> Provenance #2 – the Benin collections at the National Museum of World Cultures </a> (NB: Issuu uses cookies).
Objectstatus
legal status
Eigendom
Met dank aan (online getoond)
Periode (NB: ook thesaurusterm aanpassen!)
Benin
Verkorte naam
AFRIK
Sensitive Content

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