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Details / Information for Plaque

Plaque

1500s–1600s

Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild

Medium
Copper alloy
Measurements
Overall: 45.7 x 38.1 cm (18 x 15 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1999.1
Public Domain
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Location
108A African
Print
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Did You Know?

Look at the side of this plaque. The designs on the slender edges are considered visual "signatures" of the different casters who made plaques for the Oba of Benin.

Description

Nearly 900 metal plaques once adorned the Ọba’s palace courtyard, documenting Benin’s history and customs. This one depicts two male attendants (enobore) supporting an Ọba. It uses hierarchical composition: important figures are large and centered. Everything about the Ọba is greater than his companions: their bodies, clothing, and jewelry. The flanking attendants physically support a man weighed down by heavy royal garments and responsibilities. Brasscasters skillfully cast their clasping hands projecting from the plaque. The bottom left number means the British Museum formerly owned this. It entered their collection in 1898, one year after British troops took it from a palace storeroom during the Siege of Benin.
Copper plaque of three figures with cloths wrapped around their waists, rings around their necks up to their lips, and caps with rounded poles jutting from the top. The central figure is the most heavily adorned with straps making an "x" across their chest and spikes on their helmet. The figures on either side each hold one of the central figure's hands, extending out from the plaque, and support the elbow with their other hand.

Plaque

1500s–1600s

Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild

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