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Benin artists used size to identify the rank and importance of the various officials they portrayed. This plaque is dominated by the figure of a warrior chief. He is surrounded by two warriors and four attendants. Scholars believe that the warrior chief is being depicted at an important palace ceremony called Otue. In Otue, warrior chiefs greeted the Oba in order of their seniority. They then received gifts of kola nuts and wine. The ceremony underscored the homage the chiefs owed to the Oba while symbolically demonstrating their position in the palace hierarchy.
The artist who carved this plaque provides us with a detailed portrayal of the costume worn by a warrior chief. To learn more about the costume, click on the three buttons labeled "Cap and Necklace," "Eben," and "Mask and Robe."
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