Ask the Scholar

Page 1 of 1
I can add historical knowledge about this page.

Page image

Page 1

Document source description

While this looks like a bracelet, it wasn’t worn around a wrist. A chief or titleholder grasped this “hand coil” vertically during the annual Iguẹ festival, during which such men reaffirm their relationship to the Ọba, whose mystical powers are strengthened. An image of a man’s head caps each end of the thick, twisted metal. Repeated human touch rubbed the undecorated lengths bright and shiny. Though small, the coil’s detail is enormous: to capture it, the artist incised the designs in wax during the casting process. They show these men are elites, with necklaces, caps, and whisker-like facial markings.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
71277dd3ba1b866e
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
148196
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "148196",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Hand Coil",
    "description": "While this looks like a bracelet, it wasn’t worn around a wrist. A chief or titleholder grasped this “hand coil” vertically during the annual Iguẹ festival, during which such men reaffirm their relationship to the Ọba, whose mystical powers are strengthened. An image of a man’s head caps each end of the thick, twisted metal. Repeated human touch rubbed the undecorated lengths bright and shiny. Though small, the coil’s detail is enormous: to capture it, the artist incised the designs in wax during the casting process. They show these men are elites, with necklaces, caps, and whisker-like facial markings.",
    "date": "1800s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.188",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79928313"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Tools and Equipment"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild"
    ],
    "accession": "1975.188"
}

Context sent to Scholar

Document identity
{
    "localId": "148196",
    "label": "Hand Coil",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "148196",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Hand Coil",
    "description": "While this looks like a bracelet, it wasn’t worn around a wrist. A chief or titleholder grasped this “hand coil” vertically during the annual Iguẹ festival, during which such men reaffirm their relationship to the Ọba, whose mystical powers are strengthened. An image of a man’s head caps each end of the thick, twisted metal. Repeated human touch rubbed the undecorated lengths bright and shiny. Though small, the coil’s detail is enormous: to capture it, the artist incised the designs in wax during the casting process. They show these men are elites, with necklaces, caps, and whisker-like facial markings.",
    "date": "1800s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.188",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79928313"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Tools and Equipment"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild"
    ],
    "accession": "1975.188"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "Copper alloy",
    "tombstone": "Hand Coil, 1800s. Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild. Copper alloy; diameter: 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White, 1975.188",
    "collection": "African Art",
    "formerAccessionNumbers": [
        "941.68",
        "138.62"
    ],
    "didYouKnow": "This is a unique object; it was made using the lost-wax casting technique, which destroys the wax mold in the creation process.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Fagg, William Buller. <em>African Tribal Images;the Katherine White Reswick Collection</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 147.",
            "page_number": "no. 147"
        },
        {
            "citation": "<em>Digital Benin, </em>Markk Museum Am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Kunste der Welt<em>, (</em>Last Updated: 2021-02-13)",
            "page_number": "ID 148196",
            "url": "https://digitalbenin.org/catalogue/8_148196"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.188",
    "creditline": "Gift of Katherine C. White",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 07:37:13.434000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 148196,
    "dept": "African Art",
    "coll": "African Art",
    "med": "Copper alloy",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.188/1975.188_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "71277dd3ba1b866e"
}