
| Institution field | Value |
|---|---|
accession_number object id | 1938.6 |
id object id | 117905 |
title designation | Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao) |
digital_description description | |
tombstone description | Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao), possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s. Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild. Copper alloy and iron; overall: 29.9 x 21.6 x 20.4 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund 1938.6 |
wall_description description | Brass heads are among many objects a new Ọba commissions when dedicating a shrine to their predecessor. This head of an Ọba wears layered necklaces of royal coral beads. Tubular beads adorn both the netted cap and slender braids alongside his temples. While representing an individual, his facial features and calm expression are idealized. The thickly cast head once supported a tusk. Immune to corrosion, brass symbolizes royal permanence. A personal religious object, this head sat on an ancestral altar in the Ọba’s palace. Like many works taken from Benin altars, this contrasts with its present-day public display in an American museum. |
dimensions/diameter/width dimensions | |
dimensions/overall/depth dimensions | 0.204 |
dimensions/overall/height dimensions | 0.299 |
dimensions/overall/width dimensions | 0.216 |
measurements dimensions | Overall: 29.9 x 21.6 x 20.4 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/16 in.) |
type object type | Sculpture |
creation_date date made | possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s |
creation_date_earliest date made | 1550 |
creation_date_latest date made | 1625 |
technique production technique | Copper alloy and iron |
creditline prior source | Dudley P. Allen Fund |
provenance/0/date provenance | Possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s. |
provenance/0/description provenance | Commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon |
provenance/1/date provenance | c.1857-1897 |
provenance/1/description provenance | By descent to Ọba Ovọnramwẹn (Ovọnramwẹn Nogbaisi [c. 1857–1914; r. 1888–1897], Royal Palace, Benin City |
provenance/2/date provenance | 1897 |
provenance/2/description provenance | Brought to Europe following the Siege of Benin |
provenance/3/date provenance | c. 1929-1932 |
provenance/3/description provenance | (Fosters & Co., London or France, probably sold to Louis Carré and/or Charles Ratton) |
provenance/4/date provenance | by at least 1937 |
provenance/4/description provenance | (Louis Carré, Paris, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH January 17, 1938) |
provenance/5/date provenance | 1938- |
provenance/5/description provenance | The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH |
provenance/6/description provenance | |
provenance/7/date provenance | |
provenance/7/description provenance | |
provenance/8/date provenance | |
provenance/8/description provenance | |
culture ethnic attribution | Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild |
collection department and institution | African Art |
current_location department and institution | 108A Sub-Saharan |
department department and institution | African Art |
fun_fact notes | The <em>obas</em> (kings) of the Benin Kingdom still wear coral headpieces and jewelry like this sculpted head depicts. |
exhibitions/current/0/description exhibition history | <i>The Silver Jubilee Exhibition</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). |
exhibitions/current/0/id exhibition history | 312341 |
exhibitions/current/0/opening_date exhibition history | 1941-06-23T04:00:00 |
exhibitions/current/0/title exhibition history | The Silver Jubilee Exhibition |
exhibitions/current/1/description exhibition history | <i>Exhibition of the Month: Texture in Art</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 6-December 8, 1947). |
exhibitions/current/1/id exhibition history | 355504 |
exhibitions/current/1/opening_date exhibition history | 1947-10-06T05:00:00 |
exhibitions/current/1/title exhibition history | Exhibition of the Month: Texture in Art |
exhibitions/legacy exhibition history | CMA 1937: Ivories and Bronzes from the Ancient Kingdom of Benin, Bulletin XXIV (March 1937), repr. p. 34.<br>Washington, DC, Howard University, Founders Library Art Gallery, African redacted Art, May 1-May 31, 1953, cat. no. 33.<br>Cleveland, East Ohio Gas Company Building, "Seaway Luncheons," week of June 8, 1959. |
citations/0/citation bibliography | Foote, Helen S. 1938. "Two Bronzes from Benin". Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. 25: 48-50. |
citations/0/page_number bibliography | mentioned p. 49; illustrated p. 48 |
citations/0/url bibliography | |
citations/1/citation bibliography | Milliken, William M. "Treasure of Ivories and Bronzes from the Ancient Kingdom of Benin." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 24, no. 3 (1937): 35-36. |
citations/1/page_number bibliography | illustrated, unnumbered plate |
citations/1/url bibliography | |
citations/2/citation bibliography | "Au Cleveland Museum of Art." <em>Mouseion. </em>(April 1938) 13-14. |
citations/2/page_number bibliography | Mentioned: p. 13 |
citations/2/url bibliography | |
citations/3/citation bibliography | The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. |
citations/3/page_number bibliography | Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 386 |
citations/3/url bibliography | https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n72 |
citations/4/citation bibliography | The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. |
citations/4/page_number bibliography | Reproduced: p. 303 |
citations/4/url bibliography | https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n327 |
citations/5/citation bibliography | The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. |
citations/5/page_number bibliography | Reproduced: p. 303 |
citations/5/url bibliography | https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n327 |
citations/6/citation bibliography | The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. |
citations/6/page_number bibliography | Reproduced: p. 411 |
citations/6/url bibliography | https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n431 |
citations/7/citation bibliography | Petridis, Constantine. "A World of Great Art for Everyone." In <em>Representing Africa in American Art Museums: A Century of Collecting and Display</em>. Kathleen Bickford Berzock and Christa Clarke, 104-121. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2011. |
citations/7/page_number bibliography | Mentioned: p. 113, 119 |
share_license_status license | CC0 |
images/full/filename images | 1938.6_full.tif |
images/full/filesize images | 134503980 |
images/full/height images | 7852 |
images/full/url images | https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1938.6/1938.6_full.tif |
images/full/width images | 5709 |
images/print/filename images | 1938.6_print.jpg |
images/print/filesize images | 4044277 |
images/print/height images | 3400 |
images/print/url images | https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1938.6/1938.6_print.jpg |
images/print/width images | 2472 |
images/web/filename images | 1938.6_web.jpg |
images/web/filesize images | 299185 |
images/web/height images | 893 |
images/web/url images | https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1938.6/1938.6_web.jpg |
images/web/width images | 649 |
url weblink | https://clevelandart.org/art/1938.6 |
former_accession_numbers/0 | |
former_accession_numbers/1 | |
updated_at | 2020-11-10 10:00:23.111000 |
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