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 encircled crosses and stippling. One partial nail hole at top right. Rosette in top left corner. One nail hole at top left. Two holes at bottom right. Filled holes at top centre and mid centre. Partial nail bent over at left centre. Depicts standing figure, possibly the Iyase, facing front. Wears fluted bell-shaped headgear with elongated knob at top and feather at left side. Beaded ekpen band across torso, leopard's tooth necklace, patterned wrap-around skirt, anklets and armlets. Holds eben sword in left hand and unideintified object in right hand. Small attendant figure in bottom right corner. Wears cap with feather at left side and plaited lock of hair coiled below. Leopard's tooth necklace and patterned wrap-around skirt. Holds gong in each hand across body to left.
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: Standing figure of a Native nude to the waist, wearing a fluted head-dress with a spike, a bead shoulder-belt and anklets, two necklaces, one with leopards' teeth, and a loin-cloth with extended end, punched with a design representing crescents and leaves or feathers. He holds a club in his right hand, and a ceremonial knife in his left. In the left-hand lower corner is a musician, similarly clad, but without the bead ornaments, and shaking with both hands clappers or bells, like those shown in Af1898,0115.21-22. Both have the vertical and parallel cicatrices down the front of the body, and the feet are in both cases rudely executed. On the top right-hand corner is a rosette. The backgrounds of this and the next two panels are punched with a design which differs from that usually employed, and there is a general difference of style in the workmanship. They should be compared with Af1898,0115.2.
Exhibitions Loans and Displays - Current and Pastexhibition history Exhibited: 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa 2004 Jun-Aug, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Centro Cultural de la Fundacio 'la Caixa', Africa: The Invention of the Human Body 2004 Sep-Oct, Tarragona, Spain, Centro Social y Cultural de la Fundacio 'la Caixa', Africa: The Invention of the Human Body 2004-2005 Nov-Jan, Valencia, Spain, Sala de exposiciones l'Almondi, Africa: The Invention of the Human Body 2005 Feb-Apr, Zaragoza, Spain, La Lonja, Africa: The Invention of the Human Body