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Artist:
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Artist Unknown
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Title:
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Ceremonial sword
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Date:
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mid-20th century
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Medium:
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Wood, metal, ivory
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Dimensions:
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39 3/4 x 9 x 6 7/8 in. (100.97 x 22.86 x 17.46 cm)
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Credit Line:
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Gift of the Ullrich Collection
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Location:
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Gallery 250
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Every high-ranking dignitary in the Benin kingdom owns a sword like this, even today, but not for smiting enemies. The eben sword, with its fanlike blade and hooped handle, is purely ceremonial. During an annual festival to honor ancestors, particularly those of the king, all the dignitaries dance with their eben, tossing and twirling it in the air before touching it to an ancestral shrine.
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Artist/Creator(s)
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Name:
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Artist Unknown
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Object Description
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Inscriptions:
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Sticker '136', on blade
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Classification:
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Arms and Armor
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Physical Description:
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hooped handle, large blade with holes throughout blade for decoration, ivory section between handle and blade
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Creation Place:
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Africa, Nigeria, West Africa region, Benin Kingdom,
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Accession #:
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97.167.48
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Owner:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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