The Ohian Ẹkpẹn is a significant ceremonial garment in Benin royal court art, primarily associated with warriors and military officials, underscoring their delegated authority and ferocious skill as warriors (Ben-Amos 1995, fig. 93).

The leopard tunic is typically made from leather and cloth decorated to imitate leopard skin, usually with the face of a leopard emblazoned on the chest using appliqué. An Akọn Ẹkpẹn (leopard tooth neck ornament) and quadrangular Ẹroro (bells) are often worn on top of the Ohian Ẹkpẹn. This tunic would be worn by the Ọba’s military chiefs (Blackmun 1984, p. 323).

In historical Benin, the Ọba held the exclusive right to distribute leopard skins to those officials to whom he delegated the power to take human life. This made the leopard tunic a potent symbol of delegated authority over life and death. Osarhieme Benson Osadolor (in Plankensteiner 2007, cat. no. 244, p. 459) recalled an Edo proverb: “It is the head of the leopard that accomplishes things for the leopard,” which is particularly significant for warrior chiefs, as this proverb indicates that the Ọba, known as the “Leopard of the Home,” relied on them to carry out his military campaigns.

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.

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).

Ikoro (armcuffs) are made from different materials using different techniques, including brass sheet, cast bronze, and ivory. They were crafted by different guilds depending on the material used: artists of the Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn cast them in brass or hammered and incised them from brass sheet, whereas artists of the Igbesamwan carved ivory Ikoro. Ikoro were made in different qualities, from rather simple examples with abstract geometric decoration to finely carved ivory examples with brass or copper inlays. Ikoro are worn in pairs on both forearms by chiefs and the Ọba during ceremonies and festivals. Figures depicted on the Emwin Arhe (royal treasures) are often shown wearing such pairs.

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 ( ).

Ẹguẹn are worn by the Ọba and chiefs as part of their Ehaengbehia, the full regalia worn during special ceremonies. Ẹguẹn are worn around the ankles or calves and can be made from beads, ivory, brass or even iron. A separate category, called Elubase, refers to those which have integrated rattles or crotal bell attachments, however both are described as anklets in English.

As early as 1899, Read and Dalton commented that the anklets worn by figures shown on plaques were a signifier of high rank. Today, anklets continue to signify social status, with the Ọba wearing many ivory and coral anklets stretching up his calves as part of his ceremonial regalia (Okpokunu, Agbontaen‐Eghafona & Ojo, 2005, p.162[106]). However, anklets were not the preserve of the Ọba alone, and different kinds and quantities were worn by other members of the royal court and Edo people. For example, Flora Kaplan (2006, p.85[107]) described a photograph of Iy’Ọba Aghahowa N’Errua, who took her title in 1981, in which she wears coral anklets as one of a number of insignia of her newly invested high rank. In contrast, brass anklets would be worn by young male attendants to the Ọba (see attendant figure), such as sword bearers or Emada pages (Kaplan, 2006, p.90[107]).

The Ẹkpẹn (leopard) is an animal that appears most often among the motifs decorating the Emwin Arhe (royal treasures). The Ẹkpẹn symbolises the valour and strength of the Ọba, as well as his political authority. The Benin people eulogise the Ọba as the ‘ẹkpẹn n'owa’ (leopard of the home).

When a hunter kills a leopard, he must say “ẹkpẹn n'oha” (I killed a bush leopard), as it is taboo to say that a hunter killed a leopard without specifying that it is a bush leopard, as otherwise this would “be tantamount to symbolically killing the king” (Nevadomsky 1988, p. 81). For this reason, leopards of the bush are called Atalakpa to distinguish them from those that represent the Ọba.

Ebe Amẹ refers to a wide variety of plants, particularly the leaves of the water fern or river leaf, found in riverine areas of southern Nigeria ( ). Artists from the Igun-Ẹrọnmwọn used these as a decorative motif in the background of most Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques). The petals of the Ebe Amẹ, like the points of the ἀghàdàgháda (crossroads), represent the four cardinal directions: north, east, south, and west. The number four plays a foundational role in the Edo calendar, which is structured around four market days ( ).

Ẹroro (bells) frequently appear as ornaments worn by figures depicted on the Emwin Arhe, particularly on Ama-Eronmwon (bronze relief plaques) and Aken’ni Elao (carved tusks). These Ẹroro are most commonly quadrangular in form or, less commonly, cylindrical with rounded tops. Quadrangular Ẹroro worn around the neck are often part of the attire that indicates that figures can be interpreted as warriors, alongside the Akọn Ẹkpẹn (leopard tooth neck ornament) and the Ohian Ẹkpẹn (leopard tunics).