

| Institution field | Value |
|---|---|
accession object id | 2003.16 |
id object id | 180750 |
main_reference_number object id | 2003.16 |
title/0 designation | Head (Uhunmwun Elao) |
description description | <p>This brass head was commissioned by a newly crowned king for an altar commemorating a previous ruler, most likely the king’s father. Its shape imitates the regal coral-beaded collar and cap and served as the pedestal for a carved elephant tusk, the white color of which signaled the king’s divine and sacred nature. In Benin thought, the head is an important symbol of authority and power. Through this portrait a king channeled his deified ancestors to vitalize and protect his reign.</p> |
thumbnail/alt_text description | A work made of brass. |
material_titles material | brass (alloy) |
medium_display material | Brass |
dimensions dimensions | H. 32.4 cm (12 3/4 in.) |
classification_title object type | sculpture |
classification_titles object type | sculpture; arts of Africa; african art; altar object; ritual objects |
term_titles object type | brass (alloy); ancestors; metalworking; edo (african); sculpture; Audit 2020; May 2020; arts of Africa; Arts of Africa; Coastal West Africa; african art; altar object; benin kingdom; altar; people; african Art; ritual objects; authority; sacred; divine; supernatural; casting (process) |
color/h colour | 42 |
color/l colour | 40 |
color/percentage colour | 0.0353371105986324 |
color/population colour | 325 |
color/s colour | 5 |
subject_titles iconography | ancestors; altar; people; authority; sacred; divine; supernatural |
date_display date made | 18th/early 19th century |
date_end date made | 1825 |
date_start date made | 1701 |
artist_title ethnic attribution producer | Edo |
artist_titles producer | Edo |
technique_titles production technique | metalworking; casting (process) |
place_of_origin production place | Nigeria |
credit_line prior source | Major Acquisitions Centennial Endowment |
provenance_text provenance | Oba Ovonrramwen, (r. 1888-97, died 1914), Benin City, Kingdom of Benin, before 1897; possibly taken during the British military raid. Dr. Hans Meyer (died 1929), Leipzig, Germany, from 1900 [Receipt from Jacques Seligmann and Company in curatorial file]; by descent to Mrs. Hans Meyer, 1929; sold to Jacques Seligmann and Company, New York, N.Y., 1933; sold to Mrs. George W. Crawford (née Annie Laurie; married Russell B. Aitken, 1957; died 1984), 1940; by descent to Russell B. Aitkens, 1984; sold, Christie’s, New York, April 3, 2003, sale 1278 (The Russell B. Aitken Collection of African, American Indian, and Oceanic Art), lot 62, to the Art Institute. |
artist_display ethnic attribution | Edo, Kingdom of Benin Nigeria Coastal West Africa |
department_title department and institution | Arts of Africa |
exhibition_history exhibition history | Museum fur Volkerkunde, Vienna (organizer), BENIN–Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria, May 9–September 3, 2007, cat.; traveled to Musee du quai Branly, Paris, October 2, 2007–January 6, 2008, Ethnologisches Museum-Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, February 7–May 25, 2008, Art Institute of Chicago, July 10-September 21, 2008, cat. (Chicago only). |
publication_history bibliography | |
collection_status legal status | Permanent Collection |
is_public_domain license | true |
alt_image_ids images | 24e86b7b-fa58-2893-483c-07584028f5ef; 5dc28998-cd24-9447-bf98-f9b88979f584; ade78f17-2901-1d98-cac4-fd1b92f6cbd0 |
image_id images | 41b0cc6b-a4ed-5367-1450-595565f077a8 |
api_link weblink | https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/180750 |
api_model weblink | artworks |
alt_classification_ids | TM-14182; TM-13486; TM-12923; TM-12318 |
alt_material_ids | |
alt_style_ids | TM-14183; TM-13566; TM-12928; TM-13489 |
alt_subject_ids | TM-12082; TM-8810; TM-13639; TM-13513; TM-13631; TM-12867 |
alt_technique_ids | TM-3881 |
artist_id | 37838 |
artist_ids | 37838 |
category_ids | PC-1 |
category_titles | Arts of Africa |
classification_id | TM-13 |
classification_ids | TM-13; TM-14182; TM-13486; TM-12923; TM-12318 |
date_qualifier_id | 4 |
date_qualifier_title | Made |
department_id | PC-1 |
document_ids | |
fiscal_year | 2003 |
gallery_id | 2147470998 |
gallery_title | Gallery 137 |
has_educational_resources | false |
has_multimedia_resources | false |
has_not_been_viewed_much | false |
internal_department_id | 43 |
is_boosted | false |
is_on_view | true |
is_zoomable | true |
last_updated | 2021-02-01T23:33:32-06:00 |
last_updated_source | 2020-10-30T15:41:48-05:00 |
latitude | |
latlon | |
longitude | |
material_id | TM-2460 |
material_ids | TM-2460 |
max_zoom_window_size | -1 |
pageviews | 8036 |
pageviews_recent | 89 |
publishing_verification_level | Web Cataloged |
sound_ids | |
style_id | TM-6251 |
style_ids | TM-6251; TM-14183; TM-13566; TM-12928; TM-13489 |
style_title | edo (african) |
style_titles | edo (african); Arts of Africa; Coastal West Africa; benin kingdom; african Art |
subject_id | TM-12147 |
subject_ids | TM-12147; TM-12082; TM-8810; TM-13639; TM-13513; TM-13631; TM-12867 |
technique_id | TM-4152 |
technique_ids | TM-4152; TM-3881 |
text_ids | |
thumbnail/height | 3300 |
thumbnail/width | 2550 |
timestamp | 2021-02-08T12:51:29-06:00 |
title/1/weight | 8036 |
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