- Museum number
- Af1898,0630.2
- Description
-
Stool (agba); made of wood of mortice and tenon construction. Carved on top surface with central figure of Oba holding eben sword. Flanked by European trader in boat on right and attendant holding umbrella over Oba's head on left. Images of trade goods, a crocodile and two snakes between. Four rectangular legs of stool also carved on front surfaces with human and animal figures. Secured to top surface with ? brass nails. Inset circular mirrors in centre of stretchers on four sides.
- Production date
- 1850-1897 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 39.50 centimetres
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Width: 62.50 centimetres
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Depth: 33.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
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Plankensteiner 2007
This chair hails from the collection of Ernest Roupell, who took part in the Punitive Expedition of 1897 and was later a district administrator in Benin. According to the British Museum’s inventory, this object was in the possession of the last king, ‘Overami’. According to Roupell, the attendants of the Oba always carried it with them, and Oba Ovonramwen was sitting on it when he was sentenced to exile in September 1898.
In Benin, three types of stools were in use: the barrel-shaped ekete, nowadays covered with white fabric, on which the king sits during all public ceremonies; the erhe or round bronze or wooden stool (Hess 1983). Interestingly, the rectangular type is considered in Benin to be the oldest form of throne, supposedly introduced by the second Ogiso ruler Ere. This type of chair is particular, however-consisting of several parts joined together by tenons- appears to have been fashioned after European models.
The chair displayed here consists of nine interlocking parts, all richly carved with ornaments and figurative scenes. In the centre of the scene, on the seat, stands a king in his ceremonial coral attire, with upraised eben sword and a Y-shaped object, the ends of which are formed from two hands. Standing to his right and shielding him with a parasol is a dignitary with the characteristic uguakpata hairstyle, still common today (see Aisien 2001). Near the king on the left is a European standing in a boat depicted with upraised sabre, and wearing a suit and hat. On the outside of the boat, below it and above the king on the right, barrels are portrayed – presumably the sort in which palm oil, an important commodity in the 19th century, was traded. Furthermore, various vessels, a stemmed glass, and animals are associated with the god of sea- crocodiles and snakes – can be seen. Three dignitaries and a European are depicted on the four legs of the stool.
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Read & Dalton 1899:
Stool of brown wood on four legs connected by shaped rails, all carved in relief. On the top the king stands dressed in a shirt, cap and anklets, all apparently made of coral beads; in his right hand he holds a dagger, in his left a bifid object; an attendant on his left holds an umbrella over him, and on his right hand is a European in a boat holding up a chain and a cutlass; the field is filled with figures of snakes, a crocodile, barrels, cannon, etc. On the four legs are (1.) a chief holding up a dagger and an elephant's head; below, a fish; (2.) a man in profile with spear and curved sword; below, a European with cutlass, hooked staff and drinking glass; (3.) a chief standing, holding a spear and curved dagger; below, a leopard; (4.) a European standing with cutlass and walking stick; below, a leopard; this last subject is upside down. The circular panels on the rails have had trade mirrors set in them and three still remain.
This stool is said to have belonged to Overami, the late King of Benin.
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Note from EPS Roupell (3 June 1898):
"Overami's stool. This is the stool used by him since he came to the throne some 9 years ago. It was carried in by an attendant when he came in to submit & also at his trial."
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa
1993-1997, London, Museum of Mankind, Great Benin: a West African Kingdom
2007-2008 Apr-Oct, Bristol, Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Slavery, Abolition and the Making of Modern Britain
2007 May-Sept, Vienna, Museum für Völkerkunde, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria
2007-2008 Oct-Jan, Paris, Musée du quai Branly, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria
2008 Feb-May, Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria
2008 Jun-Sept, Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria
2014 Jun-Sep, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, The Extraordinary in the Ordinary: Chairs for Viewing the World Through Time
- Condition
- Good; top surface damaged at left edge. Missing mirror and partly missing long stretcher on one side. Cracked mirrror on on one shirt stretcher, tarnished mirroe on opposite short stretcher.
- Associated events
- Associated Event: British Expedition to Benin City Feb 1897
- Acquisition date
- 30 June 1898
- Acquisition notes
- During the British Expedition to Benin City (Edo) in 1897 objects made of brass, ivory, coral and wood were looted by British soldiers from the royal palace, its storerooms and compounds.
Some of these objects were sold or exchanged on the coast. However, many were brought to the UK where they were sold through private auction, donated or sold to museums, or retained by soldiers of the expedition.
See Collection File: Af1898,0630.1-5.
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af1898,0630.2