Context (Field collection)
Presumed taken on the British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897. There is no documentation on Green's acquisition but it is typical of the ‘bronzes’ looted as part of the Benin Expedition, 1897.

Event Date 2/1897
Author: rachel hand

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Context (Acquisition Details)
Bequeathed by Frederick William Green (1869-1949), Honorary Keeper of Antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge from 1908 to 1949.

Event Date 1950
Author: rachel hand

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Description (Labels & Markings)
The numbers '1712' and '11622' have both been written on the object.
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 (Amendments / updates)
Photograph of 1950.273 A-B attached to rear of catalogue card.
Event Date 20/8/2020
Author: Katrina Dring

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Description (Physical description)
Catalogue card notes: [One of] "Two small bronze high relief figures of warriors, imperfect, both probably parts of pendant plaques."
Event Date 20/8/2020
Author: Katrina Dring

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Context (Related Documents)
Catalogue card reads, in blue ink: "50.273 A/B | Africa | Nigeria / Two small bronze high relief figures of warriors, imperfect, both probably parts of pendant plaques. / Benin / F.W. Green bequest."

Red circular sticker on bottom right of card.
Event Date 20/8/2020
Author: Katrina Dring

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Description (Physical description)
Small bronze high relief figure of a warrior, probably part of a pendant.
Event Date 24/1/2023
Author: Mark Elliott

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Context (Amendments / updates)
Presumed to have been acquired in the attack on Benin City by British forces in 1897.
The phrase 'British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin' has been added to the source field based on the recommendations of Digital Benin. This explicitly links the object to the capture of Benin City by British Navy Forces and members of the Nigerian Coast Protectorate Forces on 18 February 1897.
The queries have been removed.
(https://digitalbenin.org/provenance/139; accessed 10.3.2023)

Event Date 10/3/2023
Author: Rachel Hand

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Description (Physical description)
This is a fragment of a pendant plaque
Event Date 14/3/2023
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 14/3/2023
Author: rachel hand

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Context (Auction / Sale)
Some of the white numbers which still remain on Green objects can be connected to the stock numbers of the dealer William Webster who purchased looted Benin material at auction and from Expedition members and became the pre-eminent dealer in Benin material. This fragment has not been connected to a specific Webster catalogue or sale

Event Date 14/3/2023
Author: rachel hand

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Context (References)
Part of the Digital Benin project website. Available at

Noted as 'A large number of fragments of objects are known from collections associated with the Kingdom of Benin. Some of these objects may have been broken before 1897 and looted in this fragmentary state. The fact that such objects were also seized in 1897 indicates the extent to which looting took place, extending beyond the largest, most intricate pieces, to virtually anything and everything. Others may have been broken during the military campaign and fire, and some in the years after, as objects moved between museums and owners. Some fragments of the same objects are known in different collections, and it is hoped by placing them together here, more examples might be found.
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 14/3/2023
Author: Eleanor Wilkinson

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Context (Other owners)
In July 2022, the University of Cambridge agreed to repatriate 116 artefacts, including this object, taken from Benin City by the British military in February 1897. A legal transfer of ownership to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria, took place on 27 January 2026.
The source field has been updated accordingly.
Event Date 27/1/2026
Author: Jan-Henrik Hartung

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Context (Other)
One of 99 objects on deposit from the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Nigeria (pending a physical return to Nigeria).
Event Date 27/1/2026
Author: Jan-Henrik Hartung