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. Crescents in each corner. Four (?) nail holes at top, three holes at bottom. Depicts single standing figure, possibly the Ehioba, with beaded coral cap, central crest and several plaits or beaded strands on either side of face. Large bead or stone pendants on cap and plaits. Single large coral or stone bead from centre front of cap. Figure wears deep coral collar and anklets. Dressed in full length, long-sleeved patterned tunic with ruffled hem and side slit. Bulge around chest area. Figure holds unidentified circular object in left hand and uwenrhien-otan switch in left hand supported by small struts.
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 ~This figure probably represents the Ehioba, the leader of the Ooton guild. Members of the guild are selected from descendants of previous rulers of Benin. They report to the deity Osuan. Ooton members perform ceremonies at all palace sacrifices associated with the Oba's ancestors. They are privileged to wear the 'oro' protrusion on their headgear and a long gown. A distinctive haircut identifies the office of these officials. They carry the flexible 'uwenrhien-otan' switch, made from the peeled branch of a shrub. This is used in rituals to drive out malevolent spirits but also used to whip any spectators who come too close to the ceremonial sacrifices. An unusual feature of the dress of the Ehioba is the distinctive bulge at chest level. The jawbone of a deceased Iyase, Benin's official leader of political oppostion to the Oba, is hidden under the gown. The locus of the Iyase's power is characterised as speech and so the jawbone of the Iyase is forfeited by his family at his death and removed to the palace. It is displayed on ancestral altars of former rulers and kept by the Ooton guild.~Use of small struts to raise switch from surface of plaque discussed by Gunsch in terms of dating (Gunsch pp.99-105). ~Read & Dalton 1899: Standing figure of a Nativewearing a bead cap with crest and rows of projections, from beneath the sides of which issue plaits and strings of beads, as in Af1898,0115.15. Round the neck is a very broad beadwork collar reaching to the nostrils. He wears a sleeved garment reaching to the knees, ornamented with horizontal bands of conventional ornament, and bordered at the bottom with what seem to be feathers or leaves. On the right hand is a wand or stick, and in the left an oval object difficult to determine. On the ankles are broad beadwork anklets. The chest projects abnormally, but whether this is a deformity or not it is difficult to say (see... Af1898,0115.97). At the level of the right shoulder is a small figure of a European in low relief, seen in profile. He is dressed like the figures in Af1898,0115.1-6, and holds a rod in his right hand. At each corner of the panel is a reversed crescent.