Iwu are facial and body markings (scarifications) that were historically worn by Edo men and women. However, since the 1960s, the practice has been nearly extinct (Aisien 2011). In the past, Iwu were used as a way of proving that one was an Edo citizen, and the ceremony of having Iwu completed was an important rite of passage for men and women. The Osiwu, who also practised circumcision and other surgical procedures, would carry out the procedure of adding Iwu. There are different types of Iwu: ‘blades’ worn on the torso (Iwu-eko), and those worn on the face, such as Ikharo (three or four markings above the eyebrows), Irho (two narrow ‘blades’ worn on each cheek), Ovbihue (nasal ‘blades’), Ovbi-agbanmwen (chin ‘blade’), and Igho-okpa/Ukpgho (three forehead ‘blades’) (Aisien 2011, p. 22).

The number of Iwu also varied depending on the identity of the person wearing them. For example, royal men would wear six ‘blades’ on their torso, whilst men who were not royal would wear seven ‘blades’. Meanwhile, the Ọba’s female children would wear fifteen ‘blades’, and all other women would wear sixteen (Aisien 2011).

Ẹkirẹ is the Edo term for frog ( ; Ọbazee 2025, p. 135). The Ẹkirẹ carries significant and often ambiguous symbolic importance, primarily linked to its liminal nature and association with spiritual and magical powers. As an amphibian that lives on the threshold between water and land, the Ẹkirẹ is seen as a messenger of Olokun. This connection reinforces the Ọba’s (king’s) ability to bridge the human and spiritual realms, a concept consistently present in Benin art.

While not as common as the mudfish, frogs appear on various Benin artworks, including Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks), pendant plaques, and Ẹrhẹ (royal stools). Their presence often relates to medicinal and occult practices. Frogs can be used in powerful curses, with a jumping frog signifying failure, and a frog, along with a coiled fish, used in rituals to release such curses. They are also associated with Osun, the deity of medicine, and scenes of snakes swallowing frogs can represent supernatural attacks or strong spiritual powers. For warriors, the Ẹkirẹ could even symbolise an aspect of their protective equipment and was used in palace rituals to encourage success in battle ( ).

Ukpọn is the Edo term for cloth (Aigbe 1985, p. 55; Ọbazee 2025, p. 542) and is used here to refer to the wrappers or kilts worn by many of the figures depicted on the Emwin Arre (royal treasures). The cloth worn around the waist may be plain, but it is more commonly richly decorated with motifs associated with the monarchy, power, and wealth, such as the Ọba'nui (infinity symbol) and Uhunme Ikpotoki (Portuguese heads).

The Benin Kingdom was renowned for its textile production, both for local use and for trade ( ). Within the royal court, members of the Owina n’Ido produced ukhuen cloth for the Ọba and other members of the court, who wore it as wrappers during festivals and ceremonies ( ).

Alongside locally produced textiles, imported cloth was also an important commodity in the Benin Kingdom’s trade networks. Textiles were exchanged with neighbouring production centres, particularly Ijebu ( ), while European traders brought silks, woollens, linens, and cotton from Europe and Asia from the 15th century onwards ( ).

Odigba (coral-beaded collar) is a rigid neck collar made of coral beads, worn as part of ceremonial attire only by senior princes who have been made Enigie (Inneh 2007, p. 107). Although Ibafe (2007, p. 43) argued that the Odigba was introduced during the Ogiso period (c. 900–c. 1170 AD) by Ogiso Ere, along with other symbolically important Emwin Arhe, such as the Ada (ceremonial sword) and the Ẹbẹn (ceremonial sword), this seems unlikely, as coral was only introduced in the late 15th century through trade with Portuguese merchants.

The trunk hand motif, comprising an elephant’s trunk ending in a fist, is believed to have complex and varied symbolic meanings. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the era of the warrior kings, the motif appeared only occasionally. During the 18th century, it was revived to honour the richest of all Ọbas, Ọba Akenzua I. This was particularly the case on the Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks), and the trunk hand motif commonly appears on these ivories from the 18th century and throughout the 19th and into the 20th centuries ( ). In her PhD thesis, Barbara Blackmun ( ) identified eight different kinds of motifs of this type on the Aken’ni Elao alone, indicating that the form itself is variable. In addition to the ivory Aken’ni Elao, the motif also commonly appears on the flanges of Uhunmwu-Elao (commemorative heads), the bases of Urhotọ (altar tableaux), and some ornately decorated bronze Ukhurhẹ (ancestral staffs).

The elephant trunk hand has been interpreted as a symbol of physical power ( ) and strength ( ), and as the “ultimate Hand of Hands” ( ). A past Ihama n’Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn ( ) interpreted the motif as a symbol of “taking life”. On some Emwin Arhe (royal treasures) where the trunk hand motif is present, depictions of human sacrifices are also present, representing the ultimate power held by the divine Ọbas. The potent nature of the trunk hand motif is further emphasised by Barbara Blackmun through the combination of “the head of one of the most powerful animals with a hand that grasps with enormous strength”; together, these signify “the acquisition of great wealth for the kingdom” ( ).

Ẹbẹn are a type of ceremonial sword of significant importance in the Benin Kingdom. During ceremonies, titled chiefs would hold them or toss them during dances, thereby paying homage to the Ọba at these public events, particularly when a chief receives a certain status. It is forbidden for Ẹbẹn to touch the ground, so the chief must take extra precautions to avoid dropping the Ẹbẹn during the dance. Therefore, the Okae-Odionmwan (head of executioners) dances with the Umozo (warfare or executioner’s sword) behind the dancing chief.

There are two central ceremonial swords used in the royal court of the Benin Kingdom, one of which is the Ẹbẹn, along with the Ada (ceremonial swords). They are distinguished by their blades: the Ẹbẹn blade reflects the shape of a leaf or an oar. Sometimes, it is decorated with openwork designs and/or brass inlays, most commonly shaped as small Ẹbẹn and Ẹkpẹn (leopards). The handle of the Ẹbẹn also has an unusual ring-shaped form, which further differentiates it from the Ada.

Ughavan (celts) are often seen as part of the decoration along the flanges of the Uhunmwu-Elao (commemorative heads), alongside trunk hand, leopard, or cow’s head motifs, or held in the left hand of the Ọba on the Ikẹgobọ (altar to the hand). This imagery has a particular meaning: when the Ọba holds the Ughavan in his left hand, it is said to be known instead as isauan (faeces of thunder) and is believed to “increase the potency of a curse or a blessing” ( ).

Many different kinds of Ẹrhu (headwear) are worn by the various figures depicted in the imagery of Benin royal artefacts. Through comparisons with ceremonial regalia still worn by chiefs and members of the royal court, including the Ọba himself, some Ẹrhu have been used to identify the different figures depicted. For example, the conical hat worn by high-ranking town chiefs as part of the pangolin regalia, still worn at ceremonies, is also visible on figures on some Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques) ( ). Other examples include the distinctive bell-shaped helmet associated with the Iyasẹ ( ). Figures who wear a shallow-brimmed hat and a cross have been identified as Ewua or Ohensa priests ( ).

Different kinds of helmets and headwear were worn by warriors, reflecting the many different ranks and roles in the army at any given time, as well as developing trends that were in turn represented on Emwin Arhe created at different points in time. Warrior figures wearing helmets covered in cowrie shells were carved on the Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks) (Blackmun 1984, p. 330), yet on the brass Ama, warriors are sometimes depicted wearing helmets made from crocodile hide or horsehair with a front plate (Osadolor in Plankensteiner 2007, cat. no. 238, p. 457). Helmets made from horsehair with a front plate are one of the more common types represented on the Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn, and the demand for black horse tails was noted by both Portuguese and British traders during the late 17th and 18th centuries (Osadolor in Plankensteiner 2007, cat. no. 238, p. 457). Other warriors depicted on Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn wear helmets with a rounded top, chinstrap, and sometimes also a feather tucked into the left side. These types of headwear are known as Ẹrhu Iyokuo.

Attire worn for battle also differed from that worn for ceremonial occasions, such as the pointed headwear worn in combination with an ornate leopard-head tunic by war chiefs. Depictions of figures wearing this attire on brass Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques) have been interpreted as representing the war chiefs’ participation in the war-ritual Isiokuo festival (Osadolor in Plankensteiner 2007, cat. no. 238, p. 457).

Another distinctive form of headwear is that worn by figures identified as leopard hunters on the brass Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (relief plaques). These large helmets cover almost all of the leopard hunters’ faces except for their noses, eyes, and upper lips, and are made of an unusual material that remains unidentifiable (Plankensteiner 2007, cat. nos. 68–69, p. 322).

European figures are also portrayed with distinctive hats, such as Portuguese three-cornered hats. These depictions reflect the artists’ keen observation and highlight the impact of European trade and military assistance (Ezra 1992).

The Benin people use beads as one of their most important ceremonial body ornaments. There are coral and stone beads, which came mostly from long distance trade. The bead workers of Benin kingdom are called Enisen and they specialise in the art of bead making, particularly the royal regalia. Different types of beads are also worn for various ceremonies. The greatest honour anyone can get in Benin kingdom and from the Oba is to be decorated with a bead, the Ikele - a symbol of nobility.

This oval-shaped bead with faceted sides is known as the Ivie okpagbaru or Ivie Ewuare (the ‘royal bead’ or ‘Ewuare bead’). The association of Ọba Ewuare with this bead is based on a story in which Ewuare took beads from the deity Olokun, sanctifying his royal position and, in turn, receiving the title ‘Lord of the Land’, in contrast to Olokun’s title ‘Lord of the Sea’ (Omomo of Enisen in Blackmun 1990, p. 65). The Ivie okpagbaru/Ivie Ewuare is a distinctive motif that can be used to identify representations of the Ọba.

Due to the association of beads with Olokun, it is unsurprising that this bead has come to symbolise wealth when used to decorate Emwin Arhe (royal treasures) (Blackmun 1984, p. 59). Paula Ben-Amos (1999, p. 64) associated the bead with a different narrative and the name ‘One Bead Does Not Go around the Neck’. Ben-Amos suggests that the bead is in fact the one that was fought over by Ọba Ẹsigie and his brother Aruanran when they struggled for the right to the throne in the early 16th century.

These motifs are known as Uhunmwu Ikpotoki in Edo, which translates as ‘Portuguese head’ in English. Portraits of Portuguese men, featuring only their heads and sometimes their shoulders, were used by artists as motifs on the Emwin Arhe (royal treasures), in particular on the Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques) and Aken'ni Elao (carved altar tusks). Also included here are a series of two or three conjoined spirals, which are interpreted as abstract forms of this motif.

One of the earliest suggestions that many of the European figures depicted on objects were Portuguese was made two years after the 1897 British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin City by the British Museum curators Charles Hercules Read and Ormonde Maddock Dalton (1899, p. 19), based on testimony from seven chiefs in the aftermath of the military campaign. The long, straight hair, beards, and domed hats together led to the identification of these representations as Europeans (von Luschan 1919, pp. 54–57; Ezra 1992, p. 246).

When included within the visual imagery of the Emwin Arhe, the Portuguese are associated with the new Atlantic trade and the consequent wealth that emerged following first contact with the Portuguese in the late 15th century. For this reason, Portuguese heads are also often associated with the sea deity Olokun. Eisenhofer (2007, p. 59) argued that the Portuguese figures and heads as motifs on the royal treasures are symbols of the king’s power: “these depictions of foreigners helped to build and strengthen the king’s image.”

When incorporated into the design of the Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques), Curnow (1997, p. 48) instead argued that these motifs could in fact indicate events that took place during Ọba Esigie’s reign. Ọba Esigie is associated with the Portuguese, as they became increasingly important during his reign, assisting with battles against the Igala from Idah, bringing Catholicism to Benin, and introducing weaponry such as guns and cannons, which were instrumental in the expansion of the kingdom.