MZB 82-0435

Research by: Laida Memba Ikuga
Institució dipositària: Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB)
Nº inventari institucional: MZB 82-0435
Breu descripció institucional: Loxodonta africana, incisor. The African savannah elephant is the larger of the two African elephant species. Previously, it had been classified together with the African forest elephant as a single species, known only as the ‘African elephant’. Even so, some authorities consider that the information currently available is not yet sufficient to divide the African elephant into two species.
Advertiment: Definition given in the institution's own inventories, which we do not necessarily share and which in some cases may be offensive or the result of prejudice.
Material: Fang
Advertiment: Terms used by scientific and academic institutions to describe the material collections held by museums of ethnology, natural history or zoology, which overlook other non-Western forms of designation and classification. While we do not necessarily share these terms, we nevertheless use them in provenance research such as this.
Mesures: Dimensions without support: 5 cm x 59,5 cm x 11 cm Weight: 1.27 kg
Mètode d’adquisició: Not documented in the museum's inventories
Advertiment: This refers to the process of acquisition of the object/specimen by the institution currently holding it, and not to the first transfer it underwent from its original context. If you have information that may be relevant to the provenance of the object/specimen, please write to comunicacio@traficants.org.

Lloc d'adquisició: Equatorial Guinea
Advertiment: Data extracted from the documentary collections of the institution, which may be erroneous or incorrectly transcribed. The historical toponymy (often of colonial origin) has been retained to give coherence to the research.
Place of production/origin: Bata, Equatorial Guinea, 1903
Advertiment: Data extracted from the documentary collections of the institution, which may be erroneous or incorrectly transcribed. The historical toponymy (often of colonial origin) has been retained to give coherence to the research.
Collector: Not recorded in the museum's inventories
Advertiment: The personal or institutional names that appear, often associated with the colonial order, may be offensive or the result of prejudice. These references are used to give coherence to the research.
Donant: Not documented in the museum's inventories
Advertiment: The personal or institutional names that appear, often associated with the colonial order, may be offensive or the result of prejudice. These references are used to give coherence to the research.
Classification group: Chordata Vertebrata Mammalia Proboscidea Elephantidae Loxodonta
Advertiment: Data extracted from the documentary collections of the institution, which may be erroneous or incorrectly transcribed, and which we do not necessarily share. We keep a terminology (tribe, people, ethnicity, race, country, etc.), created or manipulated during the colonial period, to give coherence to the research.
Holder of the legal property rights: Barcelona City Council
Advertiment: Reference is made to the holder of the rights recognized by the legal and juridical systems of the former colonial metropolises, regardless of the property rights that may emanate from the communities of origin.

Summary of results

Elephant incisor from an unknown source collected in 1903 in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. It is one of two specimens in the museum’s possession from Equatorial Guinea, according to its database. It has an inscription that reads ‘Head of the Colonial Section (Ministry of State). Bata 7 April 1903’.

Chronological reconstruction of provenance

Apart from the museum’s digital inventories, which classify the piece as an incisor collected on the same date as the inscription, 4 April 1907, we have no other specific information about its provenance.

Estimation of provenance

This elephant tusk comes from Equatorial Guinea, specifically from the mainland. We are unable to determine the exact location on the mainland. From the historical context in which it was acquired, we can speculate that it is a collection made for the head of the colonial section in 1903, although we do not have sufficient data to corroborate this.

Possible alternative classifications

In the Fang language, mbaŋ means «elephant fang».

In the Ndowe (Kombe) language, ubàngo u-a Rôku means “elephant fang”.

Complementary sources

Bibliography:

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) (1989). Proposal to Transfer All African Elephant Populations to Appendix I. Vegeu <https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/07/E07-Prop-46_African_elephant.PDF > [consulta: ] .

Ramos Izquierdo, Luis, i Navarro Beltrán del Río, Eduardo (1912). Descripción geográfica y gobierno, administración y colonización de las colonias españolas del golfo de Guinea. Madrid: Imprenta de Felipe Peña Cruz.

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MZB 82-0435

Summary of results

Chronological reconstruction of provenance

Estimation of provenance

Possible alternative classifications

Complementary sources

Other objects in same collection

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