No. 84051545

Sold
Benin - Nigeria  (No Reserve Price)
Final bid
€ 561
2 weeks ago

Benin - Nigeria (No Reserve Price)

A Sistrum in shape of a Bronze Bell in the style of Benin, with two cups, the lower one with a figure holding a rattle, the upper five figures show the Oba in the center with his arms upheld by attendants and two other people on each side. Crotal bells are attached to the sistrum on both sides. A stand in the shape of a handle; dark, nearly blackened patina, fine ornamental cisiliation in the background, slightly encrusted and oxidized. Certificate of origin and provenance. Pitt Rivers, Antique Works of Art from Benin, printed privalely 1900, page 24/25 (last photo sequence). An interesting question is why so many Benin objects included in the Pitt Rivers book (published in 1900) are not on Digital Benin? Are they no longer in the museum, have they been sold to other museums or private collections, or are there only a reduced selection from the Pitt Rivers collection in Digital Benin? Provenance research should also look at what happened to the objects in the museums after they first appeared in the West. At the moment, Benin research focuses on what was stolen in 1897 and assumes that acquisitions during the colonial period were generally suspected of being criminal offences. This is a very limited view when you look at the whole history of Benin, and what is not even considered is how the museums dealt with these artefacts. How have they been restored? How have they changed since they were kept in the West? wj

No. 84051545

Sold
Benin - Nigeria  (No Reserve Price)

Benin - Nigeria (No Reserve Price)

A Sistrum in shape of a Bronze Bell in the style of Benin, with two cups, the lower one with a figure holding a rattle, the upper five figures show the Oba in the center with his arms upheld by attendants and two other people on each side. Crotal bells are attached to the sistrum on both sides. A stand in the shape of a handle; dark, nearly blackened patina, fine ornamental cisiliation in the background, slightly encrusted and oxidized. Certificate of origin and provenance.

Pitt Rivers, Antique Works of Art from Benin, printed privalely 1900, page 24/25 (last photo sequence).

An interesting question is why so many Benin objects included in the Pitt Rivers book (published in 1900) are not on Digital Benin? Are they no longer in the museum, have they been sold to other museums or private collections, or are there only a reduced selection from the Pitt Rivers collection in Digital Benin?

Provenance research should also look at what happened to the objects in the museums after they first appeared in the West. At the moment, Benin research focuses on what was stolen in 1897 and assumes that acquisitions during the colonial period were generally suspected of being criminal offences. This is a very limited view when you look at the whole history of Benin, and what is not even considered is how the museums dealt with these artefacts. How have they been restored? How have they changed since they were kept in the West?

wj

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