Context (Field collection)
Presumed taken on the British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897, as Webster became the pre-eminent dealer in looted Benin material
Event Date 2/1897
Author: rachel hand

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Description (Labels & Markings)
Label attached to object notes "Bt Webster Sale, Nov 30th 1904 Lot 668 Purchased 1905."
Event Date 1904
Author: Katrina Dring

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Context (Auction / Sale)
Catalogue card reads "Purchased Webster Sale 1904"


Event Date 7/6/2000
Author: maa

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Description (Physical description)
Catalogue card reads: "Three small ancient shield shaped pendents (imperfect) of bronze, bearing standing human figures in relief. Two male (one with helmet) and one female, (head missing)."
Added in different handwriting " E 1905.538 represents a woman."

Event Date 7/6/2000
Author: maa

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Description (Physical description)
Plaque is cracked in 2 places. [R.Hand]
Event Date 10/5/2001
Author: Katrina Dring

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Context (Analysis)
When this object was prepared for XRF analysis in January 2017 by Marcos Martinon-Torres, he noticed an existing drill hole, which appears to have been made to remove material for analysis. No record of the results of this analysis are in the database.
Event Date 10/1/2017
Author: Chris Wingfield

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Description (Labels & Markings)
The numbers '11715' and '11706' have both been written on the back of the object. The number '668' is a Webster lot number and has been written on the label.
Event Date 25/1/2017
Author: Eleanor Wilkinson

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Context (Field collection)
Replacement catalogue gives the provenance only as 'Benin' and places it within Nigeria, referencing the Kingdom of Benin. There is no mention of Benin City and thus the provenance of Benin City has been retained but queried.
However the figures on E 1905.536-8 are all similar to those used on hip pendents that were seized in the looting of Benin City in 1897 and Webster is a known dealer in these items. It is likely they were acquired on the 1897 Expedition but there is no documentation at present.
Event Date 26/1/2017
Author: Eleanor Wilkinson

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Context (Analysis)
In January 2017, Prof. Marcos Martinon-Torres and Agnese Benzonelli, UCL Institute of Archaeology, tested this idno using a portable XRF as part of a programme of base metal analysis of Benin material.
Event Date 27/1/2017
Author: Eleanor Wilkinson

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Context (Auction / Sale)
Purchased from William Downing Webster's sale at J.C. Stevens, King Street, Covent Garden, on Wednesday 30 November 1904, lot 668.
Event Date 4/6/2019
Author: Mark Elliott

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Context (Related Documents)
Catalogue card reads, in black biro: "1905 E 536-538 | AFRICA | WEST AFRICA / NIGERIA / Three small ancient shield-shaped PENDANTS (imperfect) of bronze, bearing standing human figures in relief: Two male (one with helmet) and one female (head missing). / Benin / Purchased / Webster's Sale 1904. | R. 1906.544-546."

In second hand, blue biro: "1905 E 536. represent a warrior wearing a helmet. / 1905 E 537 represents a pot-bellied figure holding a [diagram]-shaped object (drum?) / 1905 E 378 represents a woman."

Red circular sticker in bottom right of card.
Event Date 27/8/2020
Author: Katrina Dring

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Context (Amendments / updates)
Photograph attached to rear of catalogue card.
Event Date 27/8/2020
Author: Katrina Dring

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Context (References)
Part of the Digital Benin project website Available at
Noted as 'Pendant plaques, like pendant masks, can be cast in brass or carved in ivory, and were worn as part of ceremonial regalia by members of the royal palace societies. Pendant plaques are typically U-shaped, with a suspension loop or loops at the top. Crotal bells would have been attached to the small round eyelets that decorate the bottom half. Many different motifs are shown; some common ones include images of horses and riders and Portuguese men, or just their heads, hinting at the close ties between Benin Kingdom and Portugal during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Additionally, the Ọba is supported on either side by kneeling attendants in a triad or trinity form, a position often seen as part of festivals and ceremonies in Benin City today (Plankensteiner, 2007, p.369).'

Event Date 13/3/2023
Author: rachel hand

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Context (Analysis)
Analysed using XRF instrumentation by Dr Agnese Benzonelli, University of Cambridge, as part of research by Prof. Marcos Martinon-Torres and Dr Agnese Benzonelli into Benin material at MAA
Event Date 13/3/2023
Author: rachel hand