Benin Bronzes
Sign in to savemetal plaques and sculptures of other materials seized during the British “punitive expedition” against the Benin ruler in 1897
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- group of sculptures
- Subclass of
- relief sculpture
- Named after
- Benin Empire
- Country
- Nigeria
- Located in
- Benin City
- Material used
- copper-based alloy
- Collection
- Ethnological Museum Berlin
- Location
- British Museum
- Image
- Benin bronzes british museum 2023.JPG
- Significant event
- looting
Show 2 more facts
- Commons category
- Benin bronzes
- fabrication method
- lost-wax casting
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~38 min read
Encyclopedic overview
A Benin Bronze plaque on display in the British Museum Ancestral shrine in Royal Palace, Benin City, 1891: the earliest-known photograph of the Oba's compound. Note 'bronze' heads at both ends of the shrine.
The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. The metal plaques were produced by the Guild of Benin Bronze Casters, now located in Igun Street, also known as Igun-Eronmwon Quarters. Collectively, the objects form the best examples of Benin art and were created from the fourteenth century by artists of the Edo people. The plaques, which in the Edo language are called Ama, depict scenes or represent themes in the history of the kingdom. Apart from the plaques, other sculptures in brass or bronze include portrait heads, jewellery, and smaller pieces.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Benin Bronzes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.