The Kingdom of Benin, a prominent state of the Edo people, was established with significant influences from Ife, where the art of brass casting was introduced in the late 14th century.

This technique was used to create commemorative heads for royal altars, freestanding figures, group sculptures, and plaques. The Portuguese, who began contact with Benin in the late 15th century, brought illustrations from books to influence the design and narrative content of these plaques. However, brass casting had been introduced at least a century earlier, with bronze bars being used for bracelets.

Cult objects, such as memorial beads, were made from wood for nonroyal purposes, while the king’s regalia was made from brass. Coral beads and red cloth were also used, symbolizing a mystical threat to the kingdom’s enemies. Wood was used for ancestor staffs, pottery heads for shrines, and life-size mud sculptures of royal figures for the cult of Olokun, the divinity of the sea and wealth.

Source: Britannica