The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 2, 2023

Plaque

1500s–1600s

Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igun Eronmwon (royal brasscasters) guild

Copper alloy

Overall: 49.4 x 30.6 cm (19 7/16 x 12 1/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1953.425

Location

108A Sub-Saharan

Fun Fact

The bent sides of this plaque once helped attach it to wooden beams in a palace.

Description

Craftsmen modeled brass plaques like this in wax before casting them with hot metal. Molds pushed out figures’ general shapes, then details—such as this warrior’s staff and court sword (ẹbẹn)—were added by hand. Reflecting Benin’s global connections, the incised flowers may have Islamic or European origins. Called ebe-amẹn (river leaves) they are identified with Olókun, god of the waters. The interlaced side motifs may connect several early plaques also linked by topic and style. The palace plaques were in storage before the 1897 Siege of Benin. Recently, an art historian virtually reconstructed their former display in the palace based on their dimensions and imagery.

Provenance
1500s-1600s
Commissioned from the Igun Eronmwon
c. 1857-1897
by descent to Ọba Ovọnramwẹn (Ovọnramwẹn Nogbaisi, [c. 1857–1914, r. 1888–97], Royal Palace, Benin City, until the Siege of Benin (1897)
?-?
possibly Sir Admiral Rawson
?-1953
(John Wise Ltd., New York City, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
1953-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Brooklyn Museum. Masterpieces of African Art. Exhibition Dates: October 21, 1954-January 2, 1955. [Brooklyn]: Brooklyn Museum, 1954. Mentioned: p. 41; Reproduced: no. 58
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 384 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 302 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 302 archive.org
Wixom, WIlliam D. "African Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art." African Arts. 10, no. 3. (April 1977) 16-25. Mentioned: p. 19; Reproduced: p. 25, fig 13.
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 411 archive.org
Gunsch, Kathryn Wysocki. The Benin Plaques: A 16th Century Imperial Monument. London : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. Mentioned: p. 99; Reproduced: p. 100, fig. 5.37
Windmuller-Luna, Kristen. “Art from the Benin Kingdom.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 34-35. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 34.
Digital Benin, Markk Museum Am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Kunste der Welt, (Last Updated: 2021-02-13) ID 130708 digitalbenin.org
Exhibition history

The Imagination of Primitive Man. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (organizer) (January 18-February 25, 1962).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1953.425