id:			148196
accession number:	1975.188
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.188
updated:		2023-03-11 20:51:04.194000

Hand Coil, 1800s. Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild. Copper alloy; diameter: 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White 1975.188

title:				Hand Coil
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1800s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1899
current location:		108A Sub-Saharan
creditline:			Gift of Katherine C. White
copyright:			

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culture:	Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild
technique:	Copper alloy
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Implements
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Diameter: 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon, Benin Kingdom
	date: 1800s
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Reportedly, Lehmann Bernheimer, Munich, Germany)
	date: 1961
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Mrs. Wilbur (Katherine) W. Merkel, Gates Mills, OH
	date: before 1968, date unclear
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: by at least 1968–1975
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1975–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
While this looks like a bracelet, it wasn’t worn around a wrist. A chief or titleholder grasped this “hand coil” vertically during the annual Iguẹ festival, during which such men reaffirm their relationship to the Ọba, whose mystical powers are strengthened. An image of a man’s head caps each end of the thick, twisted metal. Repeated human touch rubbed the undecorated lengths bright and shiny. Though small, the coil’s detail is enormous: to capture it, the artist incised the designs in wax during the casting process. They show these men are elites, with necklaces, caps, and whisker-like facial markings.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Fagg, William Buller. <em>African Tribal Images;the Katherine White Reswick Collection</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 147.
	page number: 	no. 147
	url:		

	<em>Digital Benin, </em>Markk Museum Am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Kunste der Welt<em>, (</em>Last Updated: 2021-02-13)
	page number: 	ID 148196
	url:		https://digitalbenin.org/catalogue/8_148196

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_full.tif