"Heiosso Stick, Benin"
Authentic reliquary/scepter of the Benin tribe with bone fragments inside. The name “Benin” derives from “Bini”, a name of dubious origin by which the Edos, an ethnic group originating from the region of present-day Nigeria, were known from a certain historical moment. This name could derive from birnin, "fortified territory", in reference to the walls that were built around the city of Edo at the end of the 15th century. This scepter, probably used in local rituals, preserves traces of the original pigments and contains bone fragments of unknown origin.