Harvard Art Museums > 1988.472: Hand-held Clapper with Bird of Prophecy Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Hand-held Clapper with Bird of Prophecy (Unidentified Artist) , 1988.472,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/226425. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1988.472 People Unidentified Artist Title Hand-held Clapper with Bird of Prophecy Other Titles Alternate Title: Bird on a staff Classification Sculpture Work Type statue, sculpture Date 17th-18th century Places Creation Place: Africa, Nigeria, Benin City Culture Edo Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/226425 Physical Descriptions Medium Bronze Technique Cast, lost-wax process Dimensions 30.2 x 12.1 x 8.9 cm (11 7/8 x 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History The royal palace, Benin City; probably taken by British forces during the Punitive Expedition, 1897. Lois Dailey Orswell, Pomfret Center, CT, by 1972, gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1988 The bronze, ivory and wooden artworks broadly known as the “Benin Bronzes” were taken from Benin City as part of the British Punitive Expedition of 1897 and dispersed to private collections and museums around the world. The Harvard Art Museums acknowledge the violence and trauma of the Expedition and understand that the presence of this cultural material in Western museums is experienced as continued injustice by descendent communities. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, The Lois Orswell Collection Accession Year 1988 Object Number 1988.472 Division European and American Art Contact am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description This work is one of the bronze, ivory and wooden artworks broadly known as the “Benin Bronzes." Publication History Marjorie B. Cohn and Sarah Kianovsky, Lois Orswell, David Smith, and Modern Art, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2002), cat. no. 283, fig. 55, pp. 112-115, 359 Exhibition History Lois Orswell, David Smith, and Modern Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/21/2002 - 02/16/2003 Re-View: S424-426 Western Art from 1560 to 1900, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/16/2008 - 06/18/2011 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
