Object Details
sova.eepa.1993-014
- Place
- Africa
- Nigeria
- Benin (Nigeria)
- See more items in
- Ancestral Shrine, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria
- Summary
- One cabinet card with an albumen photographic print by Cyril Punch of a Benin altar with two bronze heads supporting ivory tusks and framing a group of brass statues and bells, an inscription on the frame reading, "Juju altar, Benin City, May 1891.
- Biographical / Historical
- Cyril Punch was a British merchant who lived in the late 1800s and who often traded between Lagos and Benin.
- Extent
- 1 Albumen print (cabinet card, black and white, 12.7 x 17.8 cm. (5 x 7 inches) (without mount))
- Date
- 1891 May
- Container
- Box 1
- Custodial History note
- Purchased, 1992.
- Archival Repository
- Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
- Identifier
- EEPA.1993-014
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Photographs
- Albumen prints
- Cabinet photographs
- Processing Information
- The mount and the albumen print have been separated for conservation reasons.
- Rights
- Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
- Genre/Form
- Albumen prints
- Cabinet photographs
- Scope and Contents
- A handwritten title on this albumen photograph reads: "Juju altar. Kings compound Benin City May 1891." This cabinet card is considered the earliest known photograph of a Benin altar and the only one known to exist prior to the British invasion of Benin in 1897. It shows the configuration of carved ivory tusks, commemorative heads, bells, a king figure with an eben (sword), and smaller bronze figures. The photograph was taken by Cyril Punch in 1891.
- Restrictions
- Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
EEPA.1993-014
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo761bce9b5-b79c-4d88-ac4f-5db9047725c2
EEPA.1993-014
EEPA
- Record ID
- ebl-1536867904668-1536867904670-0
