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Commemorative Head
Edo, Benin kingdom, Nigeria
16th–17th century
Object Place: Nigeria
Medium/Technique
Terracotta, iron
Dimensions
Overall: 16.5 x 8.9 cm (6 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Robert Owen Lehman Collection
Accession Number2013.1732
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAfrica and Oceania
ClassificationsSculpture
Provenance16th/17th century, probably made for a member of the Igun Eronmwon, or royal brasscasters guild, for a family altar, Benin City; 1897, looted from the Royal Palace during the British military occupation of Benin. May 24, 1899, sold by William D. Cutter (dealer), London to William Downing Webster (dealer; b. 1863 - d. 1913), London (stock no. 7310) [see note 1]; June 8, 1899, sold for £5 by Webster to Lt.-General Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers (b. 1827 - d. 1900), Farnham, England; 1966, Pitt-Rivers Museum closed and collection passed by descent to Stella Howson-Clive (Pitt-Rivers), Dorset [see note]. About 1970s, acquired by Robert Owen Lehman, Rochester, NY; 2013, gift of Robert Owen Lehman to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 18, 2013)
NOTES:
[1] William Downing Webster stock book, nos. 1-9834 (Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa), entry no. 7310 (online).The back of the head is inscribed "BENIN / WBSTER. / JUNE 1899" and "7310."
[2] Augustus Pitt-Rivers established a privately-owned museum in Dorset in 1880, where he housed acquisitions he made between 1880 and 1900. He kept several notebooks recording the collection, now held by Cambridge University. The collection passed by descent through Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers’s son, Alexander Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, to his grandson, Captain George Pitt-Rivers (1890-1966) and his common law wife, Stella Howson-Clive (Pitt-Rivers). The museum closed in 1966 and portions of the collection were sold.
NOTES:
[1] William Downing Webster stock book, nos. 1-9834 (Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa Tongarewa), entry no. 7310 (online).The back of the head is inscribed "BENIN / WBSTER. / JUNE 1899" and "7310."
[2] Augustus Pitt-Rivers established a privately-owned museum in Dorset in 1880, where he housed acquisitions he made between 1880 and 1900. He kept several notebooks recording the collection, now held by Cambridge University. The collection passed by descent through Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers’s son, Alexander Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, to his grandson, Captain George Pitt-Rivers (1890-1966) and his common law wife, Stella Howson-Clive (Pitt-Rivers). The museum closed in 1966 and portions of the collection were sold.