The Benin Bronzes
Thousands of brass and bronze plaques and sculptures made for the royal court of the Kingdom of Benin, in present-day Nigeria.
- Kingdom
- Benin, Edo State, Nigeria
- Made
- From around the 13th century onward
Court art
Guilds of casters worked for the Oba, the king. Plaques recorded court life, battles and ceremonies, and served as a historical record of the kingdom.
Looting and return
British forces took the objects in 1897 and they were dispersed to museums across Europe and America. Since the 2020s several institutions have returned pieces to Nigeria.