Object History Note / Acquisition Notedescription, provenance, notes Following the British occupation of Benin City (Edo) in 1897 objects made of brass, ivory and wood were looted by British forces from the royal palace, its storerooms and compounds. Some of these objects were sold or exchanged on the coast. However, many were brought to the UK where they were sold through private auction, donated to museums, or retained by soldiers of the expedition The British Museum successfully petitioned the government to secure some of the relief plaques and over 300 were sent to the UK by the Consul-General [Sir] Ralph Moor and placed at the Foreign Office. During the summer of 1897 the Crown Agents for the Colonies, on behalf of the Foreign Office, agreed a temporary loan of 304 plaques to the British Museum. In September these were placed on public display in the Assyrian basement where they attracted considerable public attention. The Museum initially received 203 of these plaques as a gift from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. In the summer of 1898 a further eleven plaques were sent to the British Museum from the Foreign Office and three of these were selected by the Museum and were subsequently presented as a gift. Of the remaining plaques the Foreign Office retained eight and the rest were offered for sale to major museums, collectors and private dealers in Europe and the UK. Today over nine hundred plaques are known to exist in museums and private collections around the world. See Collection File: Af1898,0115.1-203 (previously Eth.Doc.185).
Physical descriptiondescription Relief plaque, lost-wax cast in brass. Wide plaque, rectangular in form with side flanges. Background surface decorated with river leaf patterns and stippling. Three nail holes at top left, right and centre; one hole off centre towards bottom, two holes at bottom right and left corners. Depicts two standing drummers, facing front. Central figure beats upright drum with both hands; drummer on right holds drum at angle with left hand and strikes drum with beater in right hand. Drummers have tiered hairstyles with plaits on either sides of faces, feathers in hair on left sides. Both wear wrap-around skirts. Central drummer wears deep beaded collar and armlets. Drummer on right wears beaded necklace and coiled bracelets. Drums have single skin membranes with tension pegs all round. Drum bodies have patterned surfaces. Kneeling figure on left side, in profile, face angled to front. Supports central drum. Figure has tiered hairstyle, side plaits and feather in hair at left side. Wears beaded necklace, coiled bracelets, fringed sash and patterned wrap-around skirt.
The relief brass plaques that used to decorate the Oba's (king's) palace are among the most well-known of all the royal arts of Benin. Although frequently described as 'Benin Bronzes' most plaques are made of leaded brass in various compositions. It is widely accepted that they date to the 16th-17th centuries. In the years prior to the British Expeditionroyal influence in Benin was increasingly under threat from rival powers, both internal and external, with a focus on economic power and control of the important trading monopolies. However, the court and palace remained the political and spiritual centre of the Benin Kingdom. Earlier accounts written by Europeans visiting the city describe its size and scale. The palace complex was set up around atrium courtyards; some had galleries with wooden pillars supporting the roof. Brass plaques, probably made in matching pairs, were fixed to these pillars. The Benin brass plaques represent a distinct and unique corpus of work, unparalleled elsewhere on the continent. They are cast using the cire perdue (lost wax) technique and show significant variation in the depth of the relief. Some of the plaques portray historical events or commemorate successful wars, while others are a vivid depiction of Benin court life and ritual. Several groups of plaques show clear stylistic similarities. William B. Fagg suggested that these plaques represent the work of master brass casters. Fagg, William, 1973, 'Nigerian Images', London: Lund Humphries Gunsch, Kathryn, 2018, 'Benin plaques: a 16th century imperial monument', London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group ~Read & Dalton 1899: Three figures dressed as in Af1898,0115.46,112, 39 and 42. The central person, who wears the broad bead collar and pendent strings of beads from his cap, plays a tall drum with his hands, the instrument being held by his kneeling companion. The third figure plays a taller and more slender drum with a stick.~Plankensteiner 2007: The drummers depicted in this plaque are, as those in Af1961,18.1, the Ikpe-iwini who belong to a subsection of the Ogbelaka guild. The Ikpe-iwini have important duties at the investiture of chiefs, and in palace rituals or ceremonies such as Igue. When this group of drummers plays the drums, the Emehe sing a song in a secret language, unknown even to other guild subsections. The third person featured on the plaque is also a member of the guild and might be an attendant. An essential feature of the two single-skin drums with cord-and-peg bracing is that the membranous head is tensioned by adjustable pegs, for which an attendant is always needed. There exist two types of the single-skin drum, a small one carried under the arm, on the hip; and the other larger type, is played standing as represented on this plaque.
Exhibitions Loans and Displays - Current and Pastexhibition history Exhibited: 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa 2007 May-Sept, Vienna, Museum für Völkerkunde, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria 2007-2008 Oct-Jan, Paris, Musée du quai Branly, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria 2008 Feb-May, Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria 2008 Jun-Sept, Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria