Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass
- Museum number: Af1898,0115.200
- 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 a "Benin Plaque" crafted in the 16th to 17th century in Benin City by the Edo people. This elegant brass relief features a leopard in profile, its teeth sunk into the head of what appears to be a goat. The leopard’s whiskers, curly tail, and proud ear are clearly rendered, while the animal’s body is marked with simple, circular patterns surrounded by tiny dots. The goat has a long snout, alert ears, and similarly textured skin. Two nail holes in the corner suggest it was once attached to a surface.
The plaque was cast using the intricate lost-wax method, a technique that reflects a highly developed metalworking tradition. These plaques once adorned royal palace pillars, celebrating court life and achievements. Today, more than nine hundred of these works are in museums and private collections globally, many acquired following British military actions in 1897.
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.
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