German Contact Point for Collections from Colonial Contexts: Benin-Bronzes in Germany

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Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt am Main: 06785




Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt am Main: 06785




Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt am Main: 06785

Object description
This information was provided by the German museum where the object is currently located or where it was located prior to restitution.

Object Name	Ancestor head
Description	Head with winged hood, high collar, on the plinth 2 leopards, 2 rams heads, 2 hands, 2 snakes. "Ancestral commemorative heads, .. have existed since earliest times as a way of honouring the deceased and beautifying ancestral shrines. .. The obas of the second dynasty introduced the brass commemorative head as their own distinctive shrine decoration. The significance of brass, at least in the modern Edo view, derives from its red colour and shiny surface, qualities which are considered both beautiful and frightening - a particularly appropriate symbol for the monarchy." (Ben Amos, 15) PUBL Kat. 1975: Abb. 5 LIT Ben Amos. 1980: the Art of Benin. London
Type	Sculpture (Art)
Materials	Brass casting/Yellow casting, brass with high zinc content, very low tin content, slightly increased lead content.
Size, Dimensions	Height: 39 cm/ 40.5 cm
Dating of Object

Museum / Collection / Acquisition
This information was provided by the German museum where the object is currently located or where it was located prior to restitution.

Museum	Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Museum Inv.-No	06785
Collector
Acquisition date	approx. 1910
Circumstances of acquisition	- […]: Unknown - ca. 1907: Städtisches Völkermuseum, Frankfurt; Purchase in England

Notes

Current ownership status and location

Status
Date of last status change
Current ownership
Holding institution
Current location

Categorization for the search functions
This information was included by the German Contact Point for Collections from Colonial Contexts and is intended to make the object easier to find in the database.

Object Type	sculpture
Materials	metal; brass
Tags

Dataset

ID	1213
last Change	2022-02-03 11:42:17
License	Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt am Main

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