Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass
- Museum number: Af1898,0115.141
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is a "Benin Plaque," a striking brass relief made in Benin City during the 16th or 17th century. The plaque features a tall, rectangular shape with decorative border elements. On the surface, you see a figure standing in the center, wearing detailed regalia: a beaded cap, deep beaded collar, and a patterned skirt decorated with a stylized European head, possibly referring to Portuguese traders.
Look closely at the intricate patterns behind the figure—there are stylized river motifs and small dot patterns. The figure holds a container shaped like a cow or antelope's head, which was likely used to serve kola nuts in ceremonial or diplomatic settings.
This work was made using the lost-wax casting technique, a remarkable method that allowed artists to create fine, detailed reliefs. These plaques once adorned the palace of the Oba, or king, in a grand city described by early European visitors as majestic and bustling. Today, this piece is part of a vast collection whose origins lie with objects looted during the 1897 British Expedition to Benin.
See it in person
Benin Plaques is on display in Room 25 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
