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Lot Essay
Cf. Pitt Rivers, Lt.Gen. A.H.L.F., Antique Works of Art from Benin, London, 1900, p.73, fig.275
In his biography of Vice-Admiral Sir Gilbert Stephenson, The Terror of Tobermory, 1972, p.30, Richard Baker writes: "By the time Stephenson's company reached the city [of Benin] it was already in British hands, deserted by the natives and largely burnt. Everywhere there were human remains--pits full of bodies in all stages of decomposition, and a stench of human blood hung in the air. Stephenson came across what had clearly been a sacrificial altar, and from it he picked up a knife that must have been used in the murderous orgies. His son has it still, and has reason to think it retains some sinister power."
In his biography of Vice-Admiral Sir Gilbert Stephenson, The Terror of Tobermory, 1972, p.30, Richard Baker writes: "By the time Stephenson's company reached the city [of Benin] it was already in British hands, deserted by the natives and largely burnt. Everywhere there were human remains--pits full of bodies in all stages of decomposition, and a stench of human blood hung in the air. Stephenson came across what had clearly been a sacrificial altar, and from it he picked up a knife that must have been used in the murderous orgies. His son has it still, and has reason to think it retains some sinister power."