Antelope horn, bound with cotton cuffs, surmounted by human jaw bone (lower mandible), long wooden peg through top, used by "powerful" medicine man, Nigerian, 1880-1910
At the time Henry Wellcome purchased this antelope horn at auction in 1932, it was reported to have been used by a ‘powerful medicine man’ in Nigeria to heal and ward off disease. The human jaw bone wired to the horn was said to increase the power of the amulet.
Details
- Category:
- Ethnography and Folk Medicine
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A127047
- Materials:
- antelope, bone, human, lower mandible, gourd, cloth and wood
- Measurements:
-
length 335 mm
mandible: length 115 mm
mandible: width 110 mm
- type:
- human remains, horn, bone and medicine man
- credit:
- Wellcome Trust
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