Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass
- Museum number: Af1898,0115.194
- 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.
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About this object
Before you is a Benin Plaque, an impressive example of brass relief work from Benin City. This rectangular plaque is decorated on its background with intricate river leaf patterns and stippling, showcasing a highly skilled approach to design and craftsmanship.
The plaque features a mudfish in detailed profile, facing left. The fish includes fine visual details like a ringed eye, open mouth, dorsal and pectoral fins, and a uniquely shaped tri-lobed tail. Its body is covered in interlocking, decorative scales, showcasing the precision of the ancient Edo metalworkers.
These plaques were likely affixed to pillars in royal palace buildings, serving as both decoration and a symbol of status. Cast using the advanced lost-wax method, the Benin Plaques are a remarkable achievement in casting brass and stand as a testament to the artistic and technical excellence of Edo artisans in the 16th to 17th centuries.
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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