H x W x D: 70.8 × 15.2 × 3.8 cm (27 7/8 × 6 × 1 1/2 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Nigeria
Date:
Late 19th century
Label Text:
During the earliest days of what would become the kingdom of Benin, the Ogiso period, the the curved sword or ada symbolized the power of the ancestors. After 1300 and the ascension of the dynasty founded by Oranmiyan, the ada became an important symbol of the power of the king or oba over his people. It is still carried before him by a sword bearer (omada) during royal public appearances.
This example, although badly damaged on its point and hilt, still displays the quality of the iron work and the decorative copper alloy inlay.
Description:
Iron curved blade sword with eroded surface and missing tip. The wood hilt is partially missing. Inlay is on both sides of five copper alloy plugs surrounded by incised linear decoration.
Provenance:
Major General Sir John Albert Charles. Whitaker, -- to 1957
Dr. Jan Olof Ollers collection
Harold Rome, New York, -- to 1980
Exhibition History:
Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 17, 2014-July 31, 2016
Content Statement:
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