Plaque (Ama)

Portuguese explorers and traders arrived by sea in the kingdom of Benin in 1485. Representations of the Portuguese were quickly incorporated into the art of the royal court. They were invariably represented wearing sixteenth-century European dress, with long hair, flowing beards, and moustaches. These depictions symbolized the wealth that the obas (kings) of Benin derived from foreign trade. One of the chief commodities imported from Portugal was the copper from which the plaques were made.