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 centre top, three holes at bottom at left, right and centre. Depicts two standing warriors, facing front, holding barbed spears and shields on opposing sides. Wear tall headdresses, beaded forehead bands, deep beaded collars, leopard's tooth necklaces, quadrangular bells on chest, leopard-faced body armour, patterned wrap-around skirts and beaded ankets. On right side of plaque is slightly smaller scale figure, facing front, with tiered hairstyle and side plaits. Wears beaded necklace, bracelets and wrap-around skirt with patterned sash. Holds open ekpokin container in both hands to left side.
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: Two warriors and an attendant. The former wear high flat caps with ornaments of beads in relief, high bead collars, beneath which is a circlet of leopards' teeth (see Af1898,0115.179 & 178) with square bell over the chest, and loin-cloths with punched designs and ends extending in a stiffened band as high as the shoulder (Cf. Af1898,0115 passim.). Each holds on the side next his neighbour a barbed spear and shield. The attendant is naked to the waist with plain loin-cloth and hair like that of the attendants in the last two figures. He holds towards the warriors a cylindrical vessel with broad base, covered with leopard skin. Possibly this may be the same object as that shown in Af1898,0115.131, but without the cover there seen. The latter example perhaps represents a drum.
Exhibitions Loans and Displays - Current and Pastexhibition history Exhibited: 1965, Oxford, Pitt Rivers Museum, Art from the Guinea Coast 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa