Object no

0000000557

Institution

Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria

Restituted

Previously owned by Museum de Fundatie

Edo designations

Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn

English designations

Relief Plaque

Iconographies

2 annotations

Ebe Amẹ

Water Fern

See Ebe Amẹ page

Ebe Amẹ refers to a wide variety of plants, particularly the leaves of the water fern or river leaf, found in riverine areas of southern Nigeria. Artists from the Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn used these as a decorative motif in the background of most Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques). The petals of the Ebe Amẹ, like the points of the ἀghàdàgháda (crossroads), represent the four cardinal directions: north, east, south, and west. The number four plays a foundational role in the Edo calendar, which is structured around four market days.

1 annotation

Ehẹn

Fish

See Ehẹn page

Ehẹn is a general term used to describe various types of fish.Ọbazee 2025, p. 90 Although mudfish are one of the most common motifs in Benin art, other kinds of fish are also represented. According to Blackmun, a greater variety of fish are represented on the Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks) than on other types of royal artefacts. According to Kathy Curnow, fish appear on 70 Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques), making them the most commonly represented animal. Despite their prevalence, the precise species of fish are not easy to identify due to their “generic renderings”, possibly indicating that artists did not always distinguish between specific varieties. Fish are represented on the Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn both in profile and from above.

1 annotation

Provenance

6 events

Production

1504 (approximate) to 1550 (approximate)

The object was produced by Unknown member(s) of the Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn guild in Benin City.

Looted

February 19, 1897 (day approximate) to June 1899 (month approximate)

The object was looted by Unknown member of the British colonial military campaign on Benin - February 1897 from Benin Kingdom.

Unknown

1930 (approximate) to 1937

The object is known to have come into contact with Charles Alfred Marius Ratton, later in Paris.

Exhibition

March 18, 1935 to May 19, 1935

The object was exhibited by Charles Alfred Marius Ratton at New York City.

Purchase

1937

The object was purchased by the Museum de Fundatie from Charles Alfred Marius Ratton through Dirk Hannema from Amsterdam to Zwolle.

Restitution

November 25, 2025

The object was restituted by the Museum de Fundatie to the Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ọba of Benin & National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria through Beatrice von Bormann and Aude Christel Mgba from Zwolle to Lagos.

Institution data

Museum de Fundatie

Transferred directly by the institution

Last updated: 2025-04-23

Language: english

Institution field	Value
Object no object id	0000000557
Object name designation	design
Maker producer	unknown (Edo people, Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria)
Title designation	Relief (Catfish)
Date date made	1500 to 1699
Technique production technique	cast bronze
Provenance research provenance	Before 1932 : ???? 1932 : Exhibition in Paris – Exposition de bronzes et ivoires du royaume de Bénin, 15 juin–15 juillet 1932 at Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle, Musée d’Ethnographie Palais du Trocadéro, Paris 1935 : Exhibition in New York – Exhibition African redacted Art (Mar 18–May 19, 1935) at MoMA. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mr. Janes Johmson Sweeney of New York is returning on the Europe Sunday, December 23, after two months spent in England, France, Germany and Belgium collecting works of primitive African Art for the Exhibition of African Tribal Art to be held at The Museum of Modern tort in the Spring. Mr. Sweeney is a student and critic of modern art, which has in several of its phases been much influenced by primitive African Art. He is the author of “Plastic Redirections in 20th Century Painting” and of articles published in American and European periodicals. He will direct the Exhibition of African Tribal Art for the Museum 1937 : Exhibition in Amsterdam – 50 pieces from Charles Ratton’s collection are shown by Carle van Lier; Acquisition by Dirk Hannema 2005 : Exhibition – Shown alongside the international art collection of private collector Willem Hogervorst from Sept. 8 to Nov. 10. A publication was issued in connection with that presentation: Favoriten van Museum de Fundatie After 2005 : Displayed in a permanent exhibition of the collection in Kasteel het Nijenhuis in Heino, second location of the museum

Sensitive Content

Digital Benin collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards African and African diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Read more about the background of this statement here