Search our website
Key in a search term below to search our website.
Key in a search term below to search our website.
During the second half of the 19th century, British imperial desire for control over west African goods and territory led to increased pressure on the Oba to open Benin territories for trade under British rule.
In February 1897, after failed attempts to agree terms of trade and in what was presented as retaliation for the ambush and death of British colonial officials in January, the British sent a military operation of 1200 troops to Benin City to depose the Oba through force. British troops occupied and ransacked the royal palace, looting between 3000 and 5000 objects of immense cultural value from the palace and other ceremonial sites.
Taken to Britain, many of the looted objects were auctioned off by the British Admiralty to recover the costs of the venture. Today most of these objects are in European and North American museums, including some in National Museums Scotland's collections. Made of cast brass, bronze, carved ivory and wood and often referred to as ‘Benin Bronzes’, they are the focus of public debate on the restitution of colonially looted heritage.
There are 74 objects in the collections that are believed to be connected to the 1897 Expedition. Of these, 36 were purchased between 1898 and 1903 from William D Webster, a British dealer and collector of ethnographic material. Webster had bought a large quantity of objects from the Expedition, which he sold to museums and individuals across Europe. National Museums Scotland acquired more items from Benin in the 20th century through purchase and donations, including from individuals connected to Expedition members, who may have been given looted objects in return for their part in the raid.
The collection of Benin material includes examples of cast brass and bronze objects made by the highest-ranking palace craft guild, the royal bronze and brass casters; brass relief plaques from the walls of the palace that represent an important record of the political organisation and belief systems of the kingdom of Benin; and a brass altar piece which features the Iyoba, the Queen Mother of Benin, one of only a few representations of Benin women in museum collections outside Nigeria.
Cast brass Oba commemorative heads. The royal bronze and brass casters were the highest-ranking craft guild of the Palace. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 19th century (A.1898.381)
Figure of a Benin royal messenger c17th to 18th century. The figure, donated to the McLean Museum and Art Gallery in Greenock in 1925 by Sir William Northrup McMillan, was purchased by the museum in 1985. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 17th - 18th century (A.1985.631).
Figure of a Benin military hornblower c17th to 18th century. The figure, donated to the McLean Museum and Art Gallery in Greenock in 1925 by Sir William Northrup McMillan, was purchased by the museum in 1985. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 17th - 18th century (A.1985.630).
Decorated brass ceremonial sword carried as signifiers of status and responsibility within the court hierarchy. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 18th - 19th century (A.1900.141).
Decorated brass staff carried as signifiers of status and responsibility within the court hierarchy. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 18th - 19th century (A.1949.206).
Brass quadrangular bell used on the shrine to call the spirits. Also worn by warriors in warfare, the bell announced their approach and was believed to provide personal protection. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin (A.1906.550).
Brass armlet worn as court regalia. The current Oba Ewuare II and his officials wear similar ornaments today. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin (A.1938.568).
Brass hip pendant worn as court regalia in the form of a leopard head mask with iron pupils. The current Oba Ewuare II and his officials wear similar ornaments today. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin (A.1897.295).
Brass relief wall plaque showing the standing Oba with attendants and representations of animals with symbolic associations including the mudfish, ibis, and crocodile. The 1897 Expedition looted approximately 900 of these brass relief plaques from a palace storeroom and there are 5 in the collections of National Museums Scotland. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 16th - 17th century (A.1898.277).
Plaque of cast brass, fragment, of part of a mudfish in relief, with traces of red pigment or clay. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 16th - 17th century (A.1901.205).
Plaque of cast brass, fragment of crocodile in relief, on background of foiled pattern, traces of red pigment or clay. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 16th - 17th century (A.1901.333).
Brass altar piece which features the Iyoba (Queen Mother) cast in a tableau of seven figures and two leopards. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 17th - 18th century (A.1898.380).
Carved ivory figures of female attendants which are among the few individual, free-standing sculptures of non-royal females in the corpus of Benin court art. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 18th century (A.1985.632).
Carved ivory hip pendant, armlet and hair pins Objects carved from ivory were highly valued in Benin, and restricted for the royal family with few exceptions. In addition to large carved ivory tusks and figures placed on altar shrines, there were many smaller, intricately carved objects like this in the palace. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 18th century (A.1985.308).
Carved ivory box with a scene of two Portuguese figures fighting, alongside a coiled pangolin. Research has linked this carving to the royal guild of ivory and wood carvers working for Oba Ovonamwen, who until his defeat by the British in 1897, commissioned many fine ivory objects like this. West Africa, Nigeria, Edo State, Benin, 19th century (A.1985.309).
