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1900.39.9

Small brass mask representing a crocodile's head.

On display

1900.39.9

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Collection type
Object
Description
Small brass mask representing a crocodile's head.
Long description
Description taken from Conservation Card by Robert Pearce 02/04/2001 - Small brass mask representing a crocodile's head. Casting in form of crocodile. Lead rectangles set into eyes. (Robert Pearce 02/04/2001) [LKG 27/03/2009]
Geographical reference
Nigeria
Africa > Western Africa > Nigeria
Benin City
Cultural groups
Edo
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1897
Date collected
February 1897
Acquisition information
Donated: 1900
Materials and processes
Material Brass Metal, Material Lead Metal, Process Inlaid
Dimensions
Height: max 210 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1900.39.9
Research and responses

This object is part of a collection documented as ‘from Benin city, taken during the punitive expedition under Admiral Rawson, February, 1897’. The objects in the collection were acquired by Mary Henrietta Kingsley before her death in June 1900. They were bequeathed to her brother Charles G. Kingsley, with the understanding that they would be transferred to the Pitt Rivers Museum after his death, however he arranged for them to be immediately presented to the Museum, where they entered the collection in September 1900. [JMC 14/04/2023]

The crocodile is associated with Olokun, god of the waters. It is regarded as the 'policeman of the waters' and is feared for its ferocity and tenacity. It may also be seen as an extension of the power of the Oba, since both the Oba and the crocodile have the right to take human life. Masks like this were symbols of leadership in Benin. They were worn by the Oba and the Edo chiefs and also sent to the Oba's vassal leaders as emblems of their authority. While the Oba and the Edo chiefs wore these masks attached to their belts, often on the left hip, vassal leaders wore them around their necks. [LM]

Associated publications
Listed as number 65 on page 10 of Art from the Guinea Coast (Pitt Rivers Museum, Illustrated Catalogue No. 1), Oxford: Pitt Rivers Museum (1965): 'NIGERIA Midwest Region ... 65. Bronze girdle mask representing a crocodile's head, as shown being worn on plaque no. 40. Benin City (1900.39.9) (21.5 cm.)'. NB The reference to 'plaque no. 40' is to one of the plaques in the collections of the British Museum (Af1898,0115.70) that were included in the exhibition. Also illustrated in black and white in unnumbered plate XX. (For details of exhibition, see under 'Display History'.) [JC 12 9 2013] Listed as no B5/56 on p. 2.1.28 of An Illustrated Catalogue of Benin Art, by Philip J. C. Dark (Boston, MA: G. K. Hall, 1982). [JC]

Search terms: Mask, Ornament, Insignia, Religion

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