Carved Wooden Leopard
This carved wooden leopard is a work of art from the Kingdom of Benin, in present day Nigeria. Within the beliefs of the Kingdom of Benin, leopards were important animals.
On 16 June 1890, during his World Trip, in the village he called Perkhotee (Parkutta), on the Indus River, the local band turned out to play for Percy Cotton
The instruments included drums, pipes and a very long horn. The band played for a performance by a sword dancer who is seen standing in front of the crowd in the photograph. Afterwards, Percy was provided with a pony to ride in procession with the band to the Polo ground where he watched the game.
Polo has a long history in the area and is the most popular sport in Gilgit-Baltistan, today. There are many contests, the most famous being the Shandur Polo Festival held every July.
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Western Lowland Gorilla Skull (NH.MER35.11)
This skull of a female Western Lowland Gorilla was collected on 5 March 1935, between the towns of Batouri and Lomie, an area of Cameroon that was under French colonial control from 1922 until 1960.