Benin Plaques
- Gallery: Room 25
- Made in: Benin City
- Date: 16thC-17thC
- Object type: plaque
- Materials: brass
- Museum number: Af1898,0115.94
- 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 "Benin Plaques," a remarkable work of metal sculpture from Benin City. This brass plaque is cast using the ancient lost-wax method, a skill for which the Edo artisans were famed. The wide, rectangular form is framed by decorative elements — river-leaf patterns and delicate stippling cover the background, while low-relief rosettes accent the corners.
At the center stands a finely detailed figure — a dignified figure in royal dress. His pose is frontal, one hand raised with a sword — its blade upwards — while his elaborate hairstyle, beaded jewelry, and ceremonial ornaments speak of courtly tradition.
These plaques once adorned the palace of the Oba, the king of Benin. Though often called "Benin Bronzes," they were largely made of leaded brass. From the 16th to the 17th century, they served as powerful visual statements of Benin’s royal authority and artistic mastery.
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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