Sideblown horn, carved from the tusk of an elephant. The triangular mouth hole is carved on the outer curve of the instrument approx. 150mm. from the bell. The bell is carved in relief with geometrical patterns.
The ivory side-blown horns from Benin imitated the speech rhythms and intonation of the titles and honours of the nobility.
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
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