The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
Rattle Staff (ukhuhre)
1900s
(s) of the Igbesanmwan (wood and ivory carvers)
Overall: 149.5 x 7.5 x 8 cm (58 7/8 x 2 15/16 x 3 1/8 in.)
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan
Did You Know?
Rattle staffs (ukhuhrẹ) like this are still used in the Benin Kingdom today.Description
Rattle staffs (ukhuhrẹ) are instruments of memory and sound. Though this staff represented a single elite man, it evokes the individuals in his lineage. Inspired by bamboo, it is divided into segments that link three carved men dressed in coral-beaded finery. Benin courtiers still carry these staffs during celebrations and rituals. By banging the staff on the ground, a rattling sound emanates from its open center, where a wooden cylinder rolls freely. The noise alerts ancestral spirits to prayers offered on their behalf. When not in use, they are stored on ancestral altars.- 1900sCommissioned from the Igbesanmwan, Benin Kingdom?-1969Odyssey, Ltd. Exotic Arts [Sam Hilu]1969–1998By purchase (?) Ms. Phyllis Lester Sloane [1921-2009], Shaker Heights, OH1998–By gift to the The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OHProvenance Footnotes1 As per Ginna Sloane 5-31-2022, P. Sloane slide depicting object with captions "Benin Staff" 53" (front) and Odyssey 2/22/69 (back)2 As per Ginna Sloane 5-31-2022, P. Sloane slide depicting object with captions "Benin Staff" 53" (front) and Odyssey 2/22/69 (back)
- Windmuller-Luna, Kristen. “Art from the Benin Kingdom.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 34-35. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 34.Digital Benin, Markk Museum Am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Kunste der Welt, (Last Updated: 2021-02-13) ID 160751 digitalbenin.org
- {{cite web|title=Rattle Staff (ukhuhre)|url=false|author=|year=1900s|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1998.85