Uhunmwu-Ẹkuẹ pendant mask worn by the great initiates of the Royal Palace
Nigeria, Kingdom of Benin. 18th or 19th century
Brass, copper, lost wax casting
Commissioned from the Royal Bronze-casting Guild Igun Eronmwon, by the Royal Palace of Benin; by descent to Oba Ovonramwen (Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, 1857 - c. 1914; reign: 1888-1897); looted in 1897 from the Royal Palace during the British military occupation of Benin; bought from the German dealer Hans Himmelheber (1908-2003) in November 1932
MEG Inv. ETHAF 020501
Like the royal ivory tusk, this highly prestigious ornament was sold at auction in London in the wake of the devastating British expedition to the capital of the Benin Kingdom of Benin in 1897. It subsequently appeared in the sale catalogue of the dealer William D. Webster, under nos. 1683 & 7610, still inscribed on its reverse. It was lost when it was auctioned again at Stevens Auction House in 1902. It reappeared in Germany in 1932, in the hands of art dealer Hans Himmelheber, who offered to sell it to Eugène Pittard, then director of the Geneva Ethnography Museum. F. Morin/MEG
