Context (Field collection)
E 1902.94 - E 1902.115 are recorded in the Accession Register as acquired on the 'Benin, West Africa 1897 Expedition’ indicating they formed part of the spoils taken during the looting of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi’s royal palace by British troops led by Admiral Sir Henry Rawson. This punitive expedition was a response to the ambush of a British party led by Acting Consul General James Philips which had sought to enter Benin City during Ague (Igue), the new year festival of renewal, against the wishes of the Oba.
Event Date 1897
Author: Rachel Hand

Description (Physical description)
Catalogue card for E 1902.107-108: 'Two small human figures carved in wood, male and female, both in the same attitude with hands holding their sides'.
Event Date 1902
Author: maa

Context (Auction / Sale)
E 1902.93 - E 1902.115 are annotated in the Register as 'B. Stevens *Prof Bevan' indicating they were purchased at an undated 1902 auction at J.C. Stevens saleroom, 38 King Street Covent Garden, London, with money donated to the Museum’s Accessions Fund by Prof. Anthony Ashley Bevan.
Event Date 1902
Author: Lucie Carreau

Description (Labels & Markings)
Label adhered to the back of the head reads: '1902.108. Benin. W. Africa. * Prof. Bevan'.
Event Date 1902
Author: Lucie Carreau

Description (Physical description)
Small carved wooden female figure.
Event Date 28/5/2001
Author: ashleigh griffin

Context (Field collection)
Collected on the 1897 Punitive Expedition. The source field has been updated accordingly
Event Date 26/1/2017
Author: Eleanor Wilkinson

Context (Amendments / updates)
'Edo' is both a language and cultural group but the catalogue is presumed to have been using the term 'Edo as a cultural group. The term 'Benin' has been removed from the cultural group field.
Today Benin City is the capital of Edo State and so 'Edo State' has been used in the place field.
Event Date 30/5/2019
Author: rachel hand

Context (References)
Photographed as part of the Art UK Sculpture project, August - September 2019. The project aims to create a free-to-access online photographic showcase of publicly owned sculpture. The three-year project focuses on sculpture dating from the last 1,000 years, held in public collections and outdoor locations across the UK



Event Date 3/6/2020
Author: rachel hand

Context (Related Documents)
Catalogue card reads, in blue biro: "1902 E. 107, 108 | AFRICA | WESt AFRICA / NIGERIA / Two small human FIGURES carved in wood, male and female, both in the same attitude with hands holding their sides. H. 5" and 5.4" / Benin, West Africa 1897 Expedition / purchased Steven / Professor Bevan's donation | R. 1903 417, 418."

Red circular sticker in bottom left of card.
Event Date 24/8/2020
Author: Katrina Dring

Conservation (Remedial)
CON.2022.5440 | Remedial
Event Date 4/10/2022
Author: Kirstie French

Loan (Exhibition)
Fitzwilliam Museum (UCM), 25/7/2023 to 7/1/2024, Enslavement & Resistance: Cambridge & the Black Atlantic
Event Date 25/7/2023
Author: rachel hand

Context (Other)
One of 99 objects on deposit from the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Nigeria (pending a physical return to Nigeria).
Event Date 27/1/2026
Author: Jan-Henrik Hartung

Context (Other owners)
In July 2022, the University of Cambridge agreed to repatriate 116 artefacts, including this object, taken from Benin City by the British military in February 1897. A legal transfer of ownership to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria, took place on 27 January 2026.
The source field has been updated accordingly.
Event Date 27/1/2026
Author: Jan-Henrik Hartung