Memorial Head of Ancestor
date: label: Accession Date
content: 28 Aug 1992
label: Collection Date
content: 1959
name: label: Donor Name
content: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden
notes: label: Notes
content: Provenience undocumented (Benin City, Nigeria. Object was outside Nigeria by late 19th to early 20th c; Delacorte Gallery of NY - to 3/18/59; Joseph Hirshhorn purchase 3/18/59 - 5/17/66). Vetted by William Fagg & Philip Dark for Hirshhorn Museum (HMSG). Exhibited in HMSG's "Benin Art," Dec 1978 - (?) 1980. Description: carved in the round, dark-brown wooden head is attached to black square wooden base. Head has stylized features carved in high relief. Bulging, almond-shaped eyes have inlaid pupils of a darker wood. Has wide nose, full lips, small ears, & ridged neck. Forehead has 4 inlaid rectangular plugs of a darker wood. Over each temple is a deeply incised tab (hair or part of cap ?) Wears close-fitting, conical cap with ridged band at bottom with protruding design on each side. Left side has upright feather(?) Behind each is a braid(?) with the end meeting the base to form a thick loop (as handle ?) Cap, braids, feather are covered with deeply incised linear pattern. Condition: heavy losses in the back from infestation. Ridged neck also has losses.
label: Notes
content: SI SI Archives acc. 86-136, box 1
label: Record Last Modified
content: 16 Apr 2024
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Benin City, Edo State / Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Edo
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 370312
label: USNM Number
content: E428166-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Sculpture
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 21.5 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 25.5 cm
label: Height - Object
content: 48 cm