Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC (circa)
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass
- Museum number: Af1944,04.8
- 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 Plaques" relief plaque. Hailing from Benin City, this artwork was crafted using the lost-wax method in brass. The plaque is narrow and rectangular, its background adorned with intricate river leaf patterns and stippling.
At the heart of the plaque stands the figure of the Ehioba. He holds a forked switch aloft in his right hand. His head is partially shaved with a stylized, tiered hairstyle, including a central lock and side plait. A triangular mark marks his nose, and a protrusion known as the Oro tops his head.
He is dressed in a deep beaded collar and a long-sleeved patterned gown, with bracelets on his arms. These plaques once adorned the palace of the Oba, the king of Benin, in the 16th–17th centuries. The work offers a glimpse into the rich artistic and cultural legacy of the Edo people in Benin City.
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.
