key (locks & enclosures)

The ownership of this object was transferred to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in November 2022.

A key (isanrẹn). Benin City. Date unknown. Isanrẹn can be used to lock up rooms such as the aza emwin arhe. This is a vault or a storage room for valuables. This key is made of iron and brass and therefore would been made by the Igun-Eronmwon (bronze and brass casters) and the Igun-Ematon (blacksmiths) together.



The key has a chain attached (included in measurements) with seven links. The chain is attached to the key via a large circular handle. The key is large and thick, and is composed of a conical rod, with a flat long rectangle attached perpendicularly, with an additional flat piece of metal at a ninety degree angle attached.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
99.248
Date
unknown
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 240 mm x 82 mm x 25 mm; overall: 300 mm x 60 mm x 10 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
brass; iron
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
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Collection Information

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