Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass
- Museum number: Af1898,0115.136
- 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," a beautifully intricate work in brass created in Benin City during the 16th to 17th centuries. This rectangular plaque features side flanges and is decorated with river-leaf patterns and small dots on the background. In the top corners, two relief leopard heads appear, ears erect and mouths wide, each with three expressive whiskers. At the bottom corners are crocodile heads facing downward.
The central figure is a standing courtier, depicted in elaborate regalia: beaded cap, collar, necklaces, armlets, anklets, and a patterned skirt. His plaits are framed by beads, and he holds a leopard-skin bag with both hands. This plaque was part of decorations in the palace of the Oba, or king.
Crafted using the lost-wax technique, these plaques are among the masterpieces of Benin art. They capture court life with rich visual storytelling and remarkable detail.
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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