Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Ancestral Shrine, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria
EEPA.1993-014
Archival Resource Key
1 Albumen print
cabinet card
black and white
12.7 x 17.8 cm. (5 x 7 inches) (without mount)
1891 May
One cabinet card with an albumen photographic print by Cyril Punch of a Benin altar with two bronze heads supporting ivory tusks and framing a group of brass statues and bells, an inscription on the frame reading, "Juju altar, Benin City, May 1891.
English
.
1
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Conditions Governing Access note
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Custodial History note
Purchased, 1992.
Biographical / Historical
Cyril Punch was a British merchant who lived in the late 1800s and who often traded between Lagos and Benin.
Scope and Contents
A handwritten title on this albumen photograph reads: "Juju altar. Kings compound Benin City May 1891." This cabinet card is considered the earliest known photograph of a Benin altar and the only one known to exist prior to the British invasion of Benin in 1897. It shows the configuration of carved ivory tusks, commemorative heads, bells, a king figure with an eben (sword), and smaller bronze figures. The photograph was taken by Cyril Punch in 1891.
Processing Information
The mount and the albumen print have been separated for conservation reasons.
Africa
Nigeria
Benin (Nigeria)
Albumen prints
Cabinet photographs
Ancestral Shrine, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria
EEPA 1993-0014
Archival Resource Key
1 Albumen print
cabinet print
12.7 x 17.8 cm. (5 x 7 inches) (without mount)
1891 May
English.
1
Ancestral Shrine, Royal Palace, Benin City, Nigeria
Nigeria
Altars
Cabinet prints
Albumen prints
Africa