Catalogue
Catalog Number
79B:5:26
Institution
Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria
Edo designations
English designations
Firearm
Categories
Weaponry
Location
1 Adesogbe (Plymouth) Road, P.M.B. 1115, Benin City , Edo State
Firearm
Firearm
Firearm
Firearm
Firearm

Provenance

3 events
Unknown
unknown to 1979
The object is known to have come into contact with Ikpekia, in Benin City.
Purchase
1979
The object was purchased by J. Eboreime from Ikpekia in Benin City.
Unknown
1979
The object is known to have come into contact with J. Eboreime and the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria, in Benin City.

Institution data

Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria
The data was transferred directly by the institution and digitized by Digital Benin in collaboration with the NCMM
Last updated: 2023-11-30
Languages: english, bini; edo
Institution fieldValue
Catalog Number
object id
79B:5:26
Material
material
Wood; Iron
Dimension H (cm)
dimensions
3.5
Dimension W (cm)
dimensions
8.5
Dimension L (cm)
dimensions
36.8
Description
description
Osisi (gun) and Etu (canon) are both types of firearms. Although the Portuguese developed trade and alliances with Benin Kingdom from the late fifteenth century onwards, a papal ban on the sale of firearms to non-Christian peoples prevented firearms being sold to the Ọba (Ryder, 1969, p.41). Despite this prohibition, some firearms did make their way to Benin Kingdom by the end of sixteenth century, and as other European powers such as the Dutch traded with the Ọba, different firearms were acquired. Although early forms were large breech-loading guns or cannons, over time matchlock and flintlock guns became available (Osadolor, 2001, p.157). Most of these firearms were produced in Europe, however one bears a stamp indicating it was made in Asia. Then, in the eighteenth century, under the command of the Ọba, guns started to be produced locally by the Igun-Ematon (Osadolor, 2001, p.158).
P.N.
object id
79B:5:26
Object count
object count
1
Associated Guild
producer
Igun Ematon, Igbesamwan
Production Place
production place
Benin City
URL
weblink
https://digitalbenin.org/catalogue/36_79B526
Production Technique
production technique
Smithing, Carving
Diameter
dimensions
Title
designation
Date Made
date made
Inscription
inscriptions
fileNames
79B526_5.jpg, 79B526_2.jpg, 79B526_1.jpg, 79B526_4.jpg, 79B526_3.jpg
Sensitive Content

Digital Benin collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards African and African diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Read more about the background of this statement here

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