^^The "Punitive" Expedition was carried out in 1897 in the Benin Kingdom, Nigeria by British colonists. After executing members of the Benin Kingdom, essentially bringing an end to the empire, in a final act of exerting power, they raided and looted the Oba's court, taking valuable, sacred, and once-consecrated pieces such as this one. This piece would have been attached to the hip of a courtier and is made using traditional lost wax casting. Albert Barnes collected this piece at least 30 years after the Expedition. Barnes made 5 major purchases of African Art from his French collector Paul Guillaume between the years 1922-24. This is all simultaneous to the "Scramble for Africa" ​​in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the Jim Crow era in the United States.