Edo Relief Plaque Depicting Oba or Royal Personage

In Benin City, the pillars of the royal palace once wore bronze. Rectangular plaques recorded the Oba, his court and important events.

This plaque was cast in the 20th century in the tradition of that court, by the Edo peoples of Nigeria. It stands eighteen and a half inches tall. A large, finely modeled face wears a ridged cap, with arms raised from the top of the head and legs descending from the chin. Four rosettes mark the corners, and the stippled ground is engraved with leaf and quatrefoil motifs. A crack and a loss mark the top edge. The dark surface has a warm, burnished sheen.

History as architecture. Hang it, and the wall gets a rank.