An age dating by means of graded alloy and patina analysis (micro-element analysis by means of atomic emission spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy by the Research and Technologies Laboratory Aventis) confirms the naturally grown surface corrosion and the dating of the object to the 18th century.

Keith Nicklin (The Art of Metal in Africa, 1982, p. 155, fig. H 15) notes: „The ram is an important sacrificial animal in many ritual contexts in this region [of Nigeria and the Niger Delta]. Throughout the Cross River area it is common practice to bind with decorative canework the skulls of beasts, thus securing them, for example, to the rafters of a men’s meeting house or to a ceremonial palmwine pot, often to commemorate the establishment of a new age-set.“

For further reading:
Cf.: Plankensteiner, Barbara / Brandl-Straka, Ursula (2007). Benin. Kings and Rituals. Snoeck Publishers, Gent, Belgium. Page 433.

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Eine Alterszuordnung mittels abgestufter Legierungs- und Patina-Analyse (Mikroelemtanalyse mittels Atomemissionsspektrometrie und Rasterelektronenmikroskopie durch das Research und Technologies Laboratorium Aventis) bestätigt die natürlich gewachsene Oberflächen-Korrosion und die Datierung des Objektes in das 18. Jh.

Weiterführende Literatur:
Plankensteiner, Barbara / Brandl-Straka, Ursula (2007). Benin. Könige und Rituale. Gent: Snoeck Publishers. Seite 433.