Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass
- Museum number: Af1898,0115.148
- 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, an intricate brass relief crafted using the lost-wax method in Benin City during the 16th or 17th century. This rectangular plaque features side flanges and a background decorated with flowing leaf patterns and subtle stippling.
You'll notice two detailed figures on the plaque. The figure on the right reaches forward with a hand, adorned with beaded plaits and regal clothing like a beaded cap with a feather and a layered skirt. The figure on the left, possibly an emada attendant, holds a calabash rattle and wears a tiered hairstyle with plaits ending in beads.
Benin plaques like this once decorated the palace of the Oba, the king of Benin. Made from brass, which was closely tied to kingship, they depict scenes of court life and rituals. These works are part of a unique artistic tradition in which the lost-wax casting method produced detailed reliefs of immense cultural significance.
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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