Bell; bronze, cast in the shape of human head; bulging eyes; elaborate costume and hairdo; hanging ring on top of head; clapper missing; registration number of cast on back: "Rd 199063" Height: 16 cm.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Collection place:
Nigeria
Verbatim coll. place:
Nigeria, Yoruba or Benin; Purchased from Saja Tunkara
Culture or time period:
Benin and Yoruba
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
1970
Materials:
Bronze (metal)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Bells (idiophones)
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies
Context of use:
Yoruba bells with faces represent ancestors with whom contact is established by means of the bell. Only chiefs of the royal line and high ranking dignitaries possess such bells. they were worn hanging on the chest as part of the costume during religious festivals. *Bell was purchased for $125.00 in 1970.