Relief Plaque (Ama)

“This brass plaque is believed to represent men who in Benin possessed the privilege of trading with the Europeans. The figure in the middle holds a staff with a crocodile on top clasping a fish between its teeth — in the court art of Benin, the crocodile was considered a sign of power and control over the ocean.”

— Plankensteiner, Barbara. “Benin: Kings and Rituals – Court Arts from Nigeria.” Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna, 2007.