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. One nail hole at top, one hole at bottom. Depicts battle scene with three Edo warriors accompanied by a hornblower and emada figure, both at smaller scale. Mounted foreign captive with second captive kneeling above. Central high-ranking warrior, second warrior behind, and hornblower wear helmets of crocodile hide, leopard's tooth necklaces, quadrangular bells, leopard's face body armour, bracelets, and wrap-around skirts. Central warrior carried umozo sword in right hand and holds captive with left. Second warrior carries shield in left hand and short spear in right. Third warrior is similarly dressed but with tall helmet decorated with cowrie shells. He holds unidentified object in left hand, right hand missing. All are bearded. Emada figure has shaved head with plaits at either side, naked except for baldric attached to sword and girdle. Holds ekpokin box in both hands. Captive on horseback in profile, with facial scarification, wears domed helmet and leopard skin body armour. Spear through back and separate spear at side. Second small scale foreign captive above, kneeling and in partial profile. Facial scarification, wears peaked helmet, and carries sword on left hip. Hands together (?bound) with separate bundle of arrows in front.
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 ~One of six known plaques documenting battles with captured enemies. BM Af1898,0115. 47; BM Af1898,0115.49; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg: 1899.75, Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig: MAf 34549; former PRM collection, (current location unknown), Pitt-Rivers, 1900: pl.2, figs.5-6. ~Read & Dalton 1899: Scene representing the taking of a prisoner, like the two succeeding numbers [Af1898,0115.47 & 49]. The prisoner is in all cases mounted upon a small horse or mule with no bridle but a piece of chain, and no stirrups. In each case also he has cuts or marks running across the cheeks from the bridge of the nose to the jaw, which must be a tribalcicatrice. In the present panel, as in Af1898,0115.47, the captive is transfixed by a spear, his own weapon having fallen from his right hand. He wears a leopard-skin surcoat, laced down the side covering a jerkin of the same material. At his left side is a dagger with a peculiar sheath (see cut below), and on his head a conical hat. The captor, who is bearded, holds his prisoner by the arm with his left hand, while his right grasps a broad-pointed sword. Except that he wears a cap of crocodile skin, he is dressed much as Af1898,0115.18. At his right side stand two other warriors of smaller stature, one of whom is dressed in the same way, but armed with a shield and barbed spear, while the other wears a headdress ornamented with cowries, and carries two short rods. Above are seen three diminutive figures, two of whom, with a drum and horn, are of the victorious party, while the third, who is kneeling in a suppliant position, is a companion of the captive, and has a sheaf of spears and a dagger. In dress and appearance he closely resembles the, principal prisoner in Af1898,0115.49. NOTE.—A peculiarity about the spears seen in this and the two following figures [Af1898,0115.47 & 49] is that the blades are of ogee section, differing from those shown in the hands of most of the Bini warriors. The swords also differ from what appears to be the characteristic leaf-shaped Benin form, though analogous weapons are known in neighbouring districts of West Africa. The daggers of the captives are also distinctive.