bell
- Museum number
- Af1909,0811.3
- Title
- Series: Lower Niger Bronzes
- Description
-
Bell form; clapperless lost-wax cast crowned bell head form in copper alloy with a looped strap handle. Vertical triple loop on forehead and ladderlike decoration present on cheeks and from both nostrils. Beneath, a naked human figure lies prone with hands tied behind their back, two birds (vultures?) peck the head and legs.
- Production date
- 10th-16thC (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 15 centimetres
-
Weight: 279 grammes
-
Width: 8.10 centimetres
-
Depth: 8.10 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
See Collection File CF Af1909,0811 for more infromation regarding acquisition.
-
Acquisition Register 1909:
“Discovered in the earth on the Forcados River, southern Nigeria”
-
The term 'Lower Niger Bronze Industry' was created and first used by William Buller Fagg (1957, 1963, 1970) to identify a miscellaneous group of lost-wax cast objects which were stylistically and/or iconographically distinct from Igbo-Ukwu, Ife and Benin City pieces. The objects are associated with various locations in southern Nigeria, south of the confluence of Benue and Niger Rivers and between the borders with the Republic of Benin and Cameroon. They are thought to have been made prior to European contact, circa pre-1500 A.D. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Lower Niger Bronze Industries’ or 'Lower Niger Bronzes'.
Fagg, William B. (1957) ‘Introduction’. In Plass, Margaret. Lost wax; metal casting on the Guinea Coast. London: London Institute of Contemporary Arts.
Fagg, William. (1963). Nigerian images: The splendor of African sculpture. New York ; London: Praeger.
Fagg, William. (1970) Divine Kingship in Africa. London: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Publications.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1909
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af1909,0811.3
