Pendant plaques, like pendant masks, can be cast in brass or carved in ivory, and were worn as part of ceremonial regalia by members of the royal palace societies. Pendant plaques are typically U-shaped, with a suspension loop or loops at the top. Crotal bells would have been attached to the small round eyelets that decorate the bottom half. Many different motifs are shown; some common ones include images of horses and riders and Portuguese men, or just their heads, hinting at the close ties between Benin Kingdom and Portugal during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Additionally, the Ọba is supported on either side by kneeling attendants in a triad or trinity form, a position often seen as part of festivals and ceremonies in Benin City today (Plankensteiner, 2007, p.369

Pendant Plaque

Austria

Website

Online Catalogue

Weltmuseum Wien

Internal Data (ger)

Haas, Georg

Patron

Wikidata Link

Webster, William Downing

Dealer

Donor

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juju 

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tribe

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non-western

western-art

western museum

tribal

hofzwerg

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British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897

expedition

exotic

negro

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Black Africa

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primitive

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