Benin Bronze Palace Wall Plaque
Ethnic Group: Edo People
Country: Benin Kingdom, Nigeria
Material: Bronze
Size:
Circa: 16th Century
Status: Private Collection, USA
Depiction: 3 Court Gong Players
The Palace of Benin that occupies about half of Benin City, has wooden columns for roof supports. These wooden columns were decorated with the rectangular bronze plaques, many of which depicted life at court in the Benin palace. The holes through these plaques show where they were nailed to the columns. It is usual for the two edges of the plaque to be folded around the rectangular timber roof supports. These plaques are dated from the early 16th century into through the 17th century. Many of the plaques show European traders in the costume of that period, and according to oral tradition, it is after the Portuguese assisted the people of Benin on an expedition against an enemy early in the 16th century, that it was suggested that their success be commemorated in the same way Europeans commemorate such events. The rectangular form of the plaques may be based on the pages in illustrated books of the Europeans, as this form is not usually found in traditional African sculpture.
The plaques show from low relief to high relief which shows evidence of the evolution of the casters and the great technical skill the were able to achieve. Other plaques show warrior chiefs surrounded by supporting figures that were much smaller, this is a good representation of the social perspective of the group, the supporters were much smaller in stature because they were less important socially than the warrior chief. The plaques used a quatrefoil motif in a stippled ground as a background.
The above plaque is a great example of the detail that went into the plaques of this time period. The bronze-smiths of the Benin kingdom created back then what to many os the most outstanding African art ever produced. Many of these plaques are in Museums and private collections around the world.
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