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Ancestral Shrine, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria

African Art Museum

Ancestral Shrine, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
Finding aid
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .

Object Details

sova.eepa.1993-014
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo761bce9b5-b79c-4d88-ac4f-5db9047725c2
Place
Africa
Nigeria
Benin (Nigeria)
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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

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