bell
- Museum number
- Af1949,07.4
- Title
- Series: Lower Niger Bronzes
- Description
-
Bell form; clapperless horned bell head lost-wax cast in copper alloy. Conical form with flared sides; looped strap handle and hole in top. Four downturned horns emerge from front back and sides of forehead, separated by spiral motif. Ladderlike decoration runs down centre of face to tip of upturned T-shaped nose. Three curved lines of ladderlike decoration curve across cheeks; three lines radiate from corners of protuding mouth; below lower lip a line of upward facing chevron extends to the bottom rim of bell. Simple rounded bottom lip.
- Production date
- 10thC-16thC (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 19.10 centimetres
-
Weight: 527 grammes
-
Width: 8.60 centimetres
-
Depth: 9.90 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
Register 1949: Another similar [to Af1949,07.3] with four horns. 3-8 IGARA?, BENIN, Nigeria
Register 1949 later addition [After 3-8 IGARA?, BENIN, NIGERIA]
[Lower Niger Bronze Industry (WBF)]
'Lower Niger' Findpsot appears to be derived from 'Lower Niger Bronze Industry' attribution
-
The term ‘Lower Niger Bronze Industry’ was created and first used by William Buller Fagg (1957, 1973, 1990) 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
- 1949
- Acquisition notes
- See Collection File Af1949,07
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Af1949,07.4
