Context (Other owners)
This collection was given to MAA by Dr Gordon Barclay, husband of the late Celia Barclay who inherited the collection in 1961 from her father, Maurice Cockin, an administrator in Nigeria (Owo and Ishan area) between 1911 and 1914. After his return to England, Cockin acquired the large collection formed by Sir Cecil Hamilton Armitage (1869-1933) army officer and later commissioner in Ghana (Ashanti and Northern Territories) between 1895 and 1920.
The circumstances that led to Cocking acquiring Armitage's collection are unclear. Toby Barclay (son of Dr Gordon Barclay who visited MAA on 2/2/2010) recalled that around the First World War, Maurice and Alys Cockin had been invited to a cocktail party where they met Cecil Armitage and his wife. Cockin discussed his small collection and Armitage mentioned he was fed up with housing several thousand objects and was going to burn them. Cockin offered to purchase the collection for 100 Guineas. They were later delivered to him in a dozen or more horse carts. Another version appears in Christie's 16/7/1975 Primitive Art auction catalogue: '[Maurice Cockin] purchased the remaining collection of Sir Cecil Armitage soon after the latter's death in March 1933' (1975: 5).
The collection was kept together until Celia Barclay donated the bulk of it to the British Museum in 1978 and 1984. What Celia Barclay kept was displayed in her small museum formed of a large exhibition room and smaller adjacent room used as 'visible storage', fitted with racks and shelves from top to bottom.
The collection was never systematically catalogued and, as far as Toby Barclay knows, there is no way of distinguishing between the Cockin and Armitage Collection. It seems, however, that the Armitage collection formed the bulk of what passed down to Mrs Celia Barclay and her heirs. Lists of objects were produced much later (by the British Museum and Christie's), long after Maurice Cockin had passed away.
Material originating from Ghana is generally attributed to Armitage and material from Nigeria and elsewhere is believed to have been collected by Cockin while in Africa. A number of pieces from elsewhere in Africa and even Asia were attributed to Cockin too, and were believed to have been bought from Auction houses and dealers in Britain after his return. It is possible, however, that Armitage collected these objects. Christie's Primitive Art sale of part of Celia Barclay's collection (held on 16 July 1975) records artefacts from various locations in Africa as well as objects from the Pacific as being part of the Armitage collection.
Due to lack of information, it is impossible to accurately establish which pieces are Armitage and which are Cockin. The 'Source' field thus gives both Armitage and Cockin as possible collectors for these artefacts
Event Date
Author: Lucie Carreau

Context (Related Documents)
More information about goldweights and gold dust boxes, their use, classification and ethnographical data can be found in Garrard, Timothy F. 1980. Akan weights and the gold trade. London; Longman; Philips, Tom. 2010. African Goldweights: Miniature sculptures from Ghana 1400-1900. London: Thames and Hudson.
Event Date 2010
Author: Lucie Carreau

Description (Physical description)
Brass goldweight in the shape of a military helmet.
Event Date 7/6/2010
Author: maa