Palace Plaque Depicting Olokun (River/Sea Deity), 17th century

Cast brass palace plaque depicting Olokun, the Benin deity of the sea and source of coral wealth, 17th century CE. Olokun is the divine counterpart to the Oba's earthly power — the source of coral (the royal status material) and aquatic abundance. Plaques depicting Olokun are rare and iconographically significant, linking royal and sacred power in Benin court cosmology. This work is in a European institutional collection acquired post-1897.