Objects Mentioned
Edo designations mentioned
Institution data
| Institution field | Value |
|---|---|
Reg No. | Af,B111.1 |
PRN | EPF11310 |
Category/s | object |
Bibliography | Read & Dalton 1899: |
Object Name/s | document |
Material/s | paper |
Description (full) | Document; single sheet of lined paper turned horizontally with fifteen vertical columns. List of numbers from 1-304 marked with double crossed lines or single angled lines in black ink, or circled in black ink with single straight lines in red ink. Annotated with notes and numbers at top, bottom and left proper side. |
Dimension/s | Height: 20.50 cm~Width: 33.00 cm |
Date/s | 1899 (circa) |
Prod. Place/s | Made in: British Museum |
Assoc. Ethnic Name/s | Associated with: Edo |
Assoc. Place/s | Associated with: Benin City |
Inscription/s | Inscription:~ Inscription details: annotation (front, top) in English~ Inscription quoted: - rejected X= kept, but not published 56 has no number painted on it~Inscription:~ Inscription details: annotation (front, left proper) in English~ Inscription quoted: one no number 98 5 [crossed through] 103 [(total] 27 28 148 165 160 278 |
Curator's Comment/s | This document records 304 brass relief plaques looted during the British Expedition to Benin City in 1897. Deposited with the Foreign Office (through the Crown Agents for the Colonies) and lent to the British Museum for exhibition in September 1897. Of the original 304 plaques the British Museum successfully petitioned to retain 200 as a gift. The remaining 104 plaques were subsequently offered for sale to external institutions/dealers or returned to the Foreign Office. This list was created around 1899 by Charles Hercules Read (Keeper of British & Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnography) following publication of 'Antiquities from the City of Benin' (Read & Dalton, 1899). The annotations on the document indicate the following: - single angled line in black ink: plaques retained by the British Museum and published in Read & Dalton - double crossed lines in black ink: plaques retained by the British Museum but not published in Read & Dalton - circled in black ink with single horizontal line in red ink: not retained by the British Museum The red ink numbers at the foot of each column indicate the total number of plaques not retained by the British Museum. |
URL | https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/EA_Af-B111-1 |
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