Context (Related Documents)
Catalogue card reads, in blue biro: "1900 E. 98 (2) | AFRICA | WEST AFRICA / NIGERIA / A HEAD (larger than life) of a native noble showing the tribal mark scars of the Bini, wearing a helmet and various ornaments. Height 15"8. Fine bronze casting by the 'cire perdue' process of the end of the XVI century / Benin City / F.J.H. Jenkinson | R1901. 495a"

Red circular sticker in bottom right corner of card.
Event Date
Author: Katrina Dring

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Context (References)
Webster, W.D. (1899) Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnological Specimens. European and Eastern Arms and Armour. Prehistoric and Other Curiosities, Vol. 3, No. 18.

Illustrated on unnumbered plate, plate, figs. 52-64. No. 63 63. (6365) Do. Mask, 18 inches high (Benin). £35.0.0.

Event Date 1899
Author: rachel hand

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Description (Physical description)
Catalogue card notes: "A head (larger than life) of a native noble showing the tribal mark scars of the Bini, wearing a helmet and various ornaments. [...] Fine bronze casting by the 'cire perdue' process at the end of the XVI century. Benin City."
Event Date 1900
Author: maa

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Context (Auction / Sale)
Purchased from W. D Webster in 1900 with money donated to the Museum's Accession Fund by Francis John Henry Jenkinson (1853-1923), University Librarian from 1889
See Webster Catalogue Number 18
Event Date 1900
Author: Rachel Hand

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Context (Auction / Sale)
Annual Report notes that this item 'was purchased with Mr Jenkinson's donation to the Accessions Fund.'
Accession Register reads "B. Webster (Jenkinson) £35 See Webster Cat. No's 18. [No. 21 crossed out]"
Event Date 1900
Author: maa

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Loan (Exhibition)
Tate Britain, London, 17/11/2015 to 18/04/2016, Artist & Empire
Event Date 17/11/2015
Author: rachel hand

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Conservation (Surface Clean)
CON.2015.1769 | Surface Clean
Event Date 2/7/2015
Author: rah99

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Description (Physical description)
A copper alloy head of an Oba.
A head of a native noble showing the tribal mark scars of the Bini, wearing a helmet and various ornaments.
Extremely heavy, take care when handling.
Event Date 7/12/2016
Author: maa

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Context (Display)
Exhibited in the Open Storage display of Benin material in Andrews gallery (3rd from left), 19 July 2016- 20 March 2017
The main label noted:
'Objects of remembrance.
Commemorative heads of bronze and brass were commissioned by the Oba (king) have been of Benin for shrines dedicated to deceased members of the royal house. They supported elephant tusks, often carved to record important events the heads either represent an Oba or Iyoba (Queen Mother) in ceremonial dress.
This consists of multiple strings of coral jewellery wound around the neck and nets of beads over the head as well as elaborate beaded head ornaments. The pupils of the eyes are formed from the iron rods that were used to support the claim old during casting. The two Iyoba (Queen Mother) heads with peaked hairstyles on the far right and left also have iron strips in their foreheads.’

Event Date 19/7/2016
Author: rachel hand

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Context (Analysis)
In January 2017, Prof. Marcos Martinon-Torres and Agnese Benzonelli, UCL Institute of Archaeology, tested this item using a portable XRF as part of a programme of base metal analysis of Benin material. This object was tested twice and the results are as follows: 1) Cu: 69.73%; Zn: 27.55%; Sn: 0.03%; Pb; 2.21%. 2) Cu: 68.74%; Zn: 28.59%; Sn: 0.02%; Pb: 2.22%. It was noted as Dark 5, Willett 5. I
t is dated as post 1700 according to chemistry but post 1800 according to Dark.
Event Date 27/1/2017
Author: Eleanor Wilkinson

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Context (Display)
Moved to a stand-alone case, 20 March 2017, adjacent to the main display, pending the proposed initial return of material to Nigeria.
Main text label noted:
'Benin: Art and Power in West Africa.
Honoring important ancestors was key to the power of the Benin royal family. This commemorative head represents an Oba or divine king, dressed in a collar and crown of red coral beads. The base is adorned with symbols of royal power, including leopards and mudfish, that hint that the Oba’s mastery over earth and water, while his face expresses wisdom and calm. Hundreds of these heads were commissioned by the royal family to be placed on altars within the sprawling royal palace.
The Benin royal family had been in power for over 600 years when British forces sacked and looted Benin City in February 1897. Thousands of objects such as this commemorative head, were taken from the royal palace and sold in art auctions an gallery's the resulting flood of Benin artwork in the international market created a mania among eager collections collectors in Britain and abroad.’

Individual label noted:
‘Commemorative head of a king (Oba) Edo, Benin City, southern Nigeria Eighteen to nineteenth century Purchased with funds from Francis Jenkinson E 1900.98.2'
Event Date 20/3/2017
Author: Rachel Hand

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Context (Field collection)
Presumed taken during the British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897, as Webster became the pre-eminent dealer in looted Benin material

Event Date 07/03/2023
Author: rachel hand

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Context (Amendments / updates)
The phrase 'British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin' has been added to the source field based on the recommendations of Digital Benin. This explicitly links the object to the capture of Benin City by British Navy Forces and members of the Nigerian Coast Protectorate Forces on 18 February 1897. The maker and artist field has been updated with the 'Igun Eronmwon (royal guild of brass casters)'.
(https://digitalbenin.org/provenance/139; accessed 10.3.2023)

Event Date 10/3/2023
Author: Rachel Hand

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Context (Other)
One of 17 objects on loan to MAA from National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Nigeria for exhibition and study purposes, until January 2029.
Event Date 27/1/2026
Author: Jan-Henrik Hartung

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Context (Display)
New free-standing yellow label added to the display case in February 2026 which noted:
‘In July 2022, the University of Cambridge agreed to repatriate 116 artefacts taken from Ben in city by the British military in February 1897. Arrangements are being made to physically return the collection. This artefact is on loan from the National Commission of museums and monuments, Nigeria.’
Event Date 17/6/2026
Author: Rachel Hand