Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass; iron (?)
- Museum number: Af1898,0115.51
- 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
Before you is one of the iconic "Benin Plaques," a remarkable brass relief cast using the ancient lost-wax method. Hailing from Benin City in what is now Nigeria, this plaque is among the masterpieces of the Edo people's royal artistry. Created between the 16th and 17th centuries, it reflects a period of rich cultural and political life in the Benin Kingdom.
This plaque shows a high-ranking figure, likely the Iyase, standing majestically in the center, accompanied by two warriors and two attendants. The figure's elaborate costume includes a beaded collar, feathered skirt, and a helmet decorated with a feathered knob. In one hand, he holds a raised sword; the other grips a spear.
The surrounding figures wear armor and ornate headgear, and each carries either a shield or weapon. Their detailed dress and poses offer a vivid snapshot of court presence and power.
Once displayed in grand palace structures, these plaques are more than decoration—they are visual records of leadership and ceremony in the kingdom’s history. Today, their craftsmanship and storytelling continue to captivate audiences around the world.
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.
