Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass
- Museum number: Af1898,0115.41
- 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 brass plaque from Benin City, depicting a powerful and richly adorned Oba, or king, supported by two attendants known as enobore. The Oba is shown wearing a towering beaded crown with an oro, or metal protrusion, while his supporters mirror this prestigious adornment. Their detailed costumes, including wrap-around skirts and intricate beading, are typical of Benin court attire.
This plaque uses the lost-wax casting method, a highly refined brass-casting tradition unique to the region. The background is decorated with repeating river-leaf patterns and small, dot-like decorations.
Crafted in the 16th to 17th centuries, this work was once part of Benin’s royal palace decorations. The plaque’s style fits a group noted for exaggerated body proportions and distinct flange patterns—hallmarks of Benin artistry.
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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