Reg No.
5242
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

Iconographies

3 annotations
Ehẹn
Fish

Ehẹn is a general term used to describe various types of fish (Ọbazee 2025, p. 90; ). Although mudfish are one of the most common motifs in Benin art, other kinds of fish are also represented. According to Blackmun ( ), a greater variety of fish are represented on the Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks) than on other types of royal artefacts. According to Kathy Curnow ( ), fish appear on 70 Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques), making them the most commonly represented animal. Despite their prevalence, the precise species of fish are not easy to identify due to their “generic renderings”, possibly indicating that artists did not always distinguish between specific varieties ( ). Fish are represented on the Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn both in profile and from above.

1 annotation
Ehẹn
Owẹn iba ẹdẹ ku
Rosette - 'The Sun Never Misses a Day'

This rosette design, usually found in the corners of Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques), is one of two motifs representing the sun and one of a number of motifs in Edo art that are also connected with Olokun. The association between the sun and Olokun refers to the way in which the sun descends into the sea each day—hence the proverb ‘the sun never misses a day’—and the sea is where the deity Olokun lives ( ).

1 annotation
Owẹn iba ẹdẹ ku
Water fern
Ebe Amẹ
Water Fern

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
Ebe Amẹ

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.
Auction
1900
The object was auctioned to William Downing Webster through Stevens Auction Rooms in London.
Auction
June 30, 1902
The object was auctioned to Theodor 'Theo' Rautenstrauch by William Downing Webster through Stevens Auction Rooms in London.
Donation
November 21, 1902
The object was donated by Theodor 'Theo' Rautenstrauch to the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne.
Restitution
December 8, 2022
The object was restituted by the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria from Cologne to Nigeria.

Related archival documents

3 documents
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Date
Date
Date

Institution data

Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum
The data was transferred directly by the institution.
Last updated: 2022-07-27
Language: english
Institution fieldValue
Additional Ids
object id
190219
Additional Ids / bundle
object id
RJM 1902/19
Other numbers
object id
9916 (old inventory number)
Reg No.
object id
5242
Reg. No / Inventory number
object id
RJM 5242
Object name
designation
object type
relief plaque
Object name / Title
designation
Relief Plaque
materials
material
copper alloy
Dimension/s
dimensions
H.38,30cm W.20,20cm X. 3cm
previous owner/collector
prior source
Theodor Rautenstrauch, son of Adele and Eugen Rautenstrauch, Member of Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft - Dep. Köln Collection Wilhelm Joest 1908
provenance
provenance
30.06.1902 to 21.11.1902, Theodor Rautenstrauch (1873-1907) (auction); from 21.11.1902, Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum (donation); 1902 - 30.06.1902, J.C. Stevens, London (location), Stevens' Auction Rooms; auction in 1900, W. D. Webster, London, Bicester (commission)
Institution
department and institution
Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum - Cultures of the World, Cologne
Institution acquisition date
accession date
11/21/02
Acquisition details
accession method
donation
comments
notes
Theodor Rautenstrauch got the objects at an auction of Mr. J.C. Stevens on 03.06.1902 in London. The auction named "Benin brass" and embraced a collection of the British Punitive from 1897.
Copyright
license
© Museumsgesellschaft RJM Köln, Foto Uli Grohs
notes concerning "other numbers"
inventory number W.D. Webster Webster catalogue 27/1901, figure 85
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