ProvenioArt Intelligence
Sign InExplore
kingdom of beninbenin kingdom

Hip Ornament with Mask of Oba (16th century) — Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford

Cast brass hip mask ornament from the Kingdom of Benin, 16th century CE. Hip masks (uhunmwun ekue) were worn suspended from a warrior chief's or senior dignitary's hip belt during royal ceremonies. The mask face represents the Oba or a royal ancestor. This example held at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, which acquired it following the 1897 Punitive Expedition dispersal.

Scholarly Significance

Benin hip mask ornament at Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford — documents portable royal regalia type and the Pitt Rivers as a colonial-acquisition holding institution with active decolonisation policy.

Notes

  • ·The hip mask type differs from the well-known ivory pendant mask (Idia type) which was worn at the chest or hip by the Oba himself; this brass type was worn by senior chiefs.
  • ·Pitt Rivers Museum was founded in 1884 with objects donated by General Pitt Rivers; its Benin collection was acquired in the post-1897 dispersal period.
  • ·The museum's 2020 decolonisation programme resulted in the removal of human remains from display and formal engagement with source communities.