[Plaque] The kingdom of Begin flourished from 1300 to 1897. At the Begin court, brass casters made plaques exclusively for powerful sacred kings. The plaques probably embellished piers supporting the royal palace's roof. They were cast in copper alloy--a material associated with the kings, who controlled foreign trade.

This plaque represents a king (oba) flanked by musicians and an attendant raising a ceremonial sword. The figures' relative size indicates their social status in Begin society. The half-figures in the upper corners depict Portuguese traders.

Courtesy of the National Museum of African Art , gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn to the Smithsonian Institution in 1979.

Plaque with multiple figures, Edo peoples, Begin Kingdom, Nigeria, mid-16-17th centuries A.D., copper alloy

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