Uhunmwun-elao – Ancestral Commemorative Brass Head
Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao)
Attribution follows a published museum catalogue or peer-reviewed scholarship. Object is held in a public collection under a published accession number.
Brass heads are among many objects a new Ọba commissions when dedicating a shrine to their predecessor. This head of an Ọba wears layered necklaces of royal coral beads. Tubular beads adorn both the netted cap and slender braids alongside his temples. While representing an individual, his facial features and calm expression are idealized. The thickly cast head once supported a tusk. Immune to corrosion, brass symbolizes royal permanence. A personal religious object, this head sat on an ancestral altar in the Ọba’s palace. Like many works taken from Benin altars, this contrasts with its present-day public display in an American museum.
Catalogued by Cleveland Museum of Art as “Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao)”, dated possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s. Harvested from the museum’s open-access record; every field below is copied from that record and none of it has been inferred.
Record
| People / culture | Bini |
|---|---|
| Country | Nigeria |
| Common name | Ancestral Commemorative Head (uhunmwun-elao) |
| Form category | Figure, staff, or non-mask object |
| Subject depicted | Ancestor or named individual |
| Materials | Copper alloy and iron |
| Dimensions | Overall: 29.9 x 21.6 x 20.4 cm (11 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 1/16 in.) |
Provenance
Commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon (Possibly mid-1500s or early 1600s.)
By descent to Ọba Ovọnramwẹn (Ovọnramwẹn Nogbaisi [c. 1857–1914; r. 1888–1897], Royal Palace, Benin City (c.1857–1897)
Brought to Europe following the Siege of Benin (1897)
(Fosters & Co., London or France, probably sold to Louis Carré and/or Charles Ratton) (c. 1929–1932)
(Louis Carré, Paris, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH January 17, 1938) (by at least 1937)
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1938–)
| Collection | Cleveland Museum of Art |
|---|---|
| Accession number | 1938.6 |
Source
https://clevelandart.org/art/1938.6
This record is a catalogue entry, not an appraisal, valuation or legal determination. Nothing here should be read as evidence that an object was lawfully acquired or exported.