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.

A variety of different kinds of Ahianmwẹ (birds) were depicted by artists from the palace guilds on royal artefacts over the centuries. The precise identification and interpretation of these birds, and the meanings attributed to them, vary. Some of the most commonly depicted are the Akala (white-backed vulture), Oɛɣohɔ (vulturine fish eagle), and Esughusughu (owl).

The Akala is usually depicted on top of Osogan, potent staffs kept by priests for the worship of Osun. Its ewawa (beak) is associated with the azen (witches), and the Akala is associated with “death, abandonment, morbidity, and spoils” ( ). The Oɛɣohɔ is known as the “king of the day birds,” and its feathers are often worn by chiefs in their headwear as symbols of respected old age and proper chieftaincy ( ).

These motifs are sometimes interpreted as Uzo (antelopes) but also as Emila (cows). Both animals share certain characteristics, being regarded as physically beautiful and peaceful creatures. Some Orhiẹvbẹ (kola-nut bowls) take the form of an antelope head with its horns grasped by a pair of hands, a gesture that symbolises the right of humans to sacrifice antelopes and cows with impunity (Ben-Amos Girschick 2007, cat. no. 88, pp. 339, 341).

Uzo primarily symbolise beauty, docility, and their status as permissible sacrificial animals, reinforcing themes of human control over nature and the rituals that underpin social and spiritual order.

Osisi is the general Edo word for guns. Osisi were initially introduced to the Benin Kingdom by the Portuguese from the late 16th century onwards and were again traded by the Dutch from the early 17th century (Osadolor 2007, p. 80). Osisi are usually represented as being carried by, or positioned close to, figures identified as Portuguese based on their attire and hairstyles. There are a small number of exceptions, including two wooden carved examples. One is a possible chair seat where a figure is holding a gun upright, and another is a carved wooden panel where a gun is shown next to an Edo dignitary. Additionally, a more recent work produced by the artist H. I. Erhabor includes an Edo figure holding a gun.

These weapons quickly became a potent symbol in the work of artists from the royal guilds, representing the Ọba’s military might, expansionist policies, and the wealth derived from foreign trade (Plankensteiner 2007, p. 208). Three different kinds of European-manufactured guns were used by the Edo army: the flintlock, the wheellock, and later the matchlock, which was used from the 1600s until around 1850. However, Ọba Akengbuda became increasingly wary of Edo dependence on European firearms and encouraged the production of firearms by the Igun Ematon. During the 19th century, the trade in firearms from Europe resumed, with Dane guns, so named because they were made in Denmark. However, from 1890, European imperial powers banned the trade in firearms to West Africa (Osadolor 2007, pp. 80–81).

Compared to the Ẹkpẹn (leopard), the Eni (elephant) is not as prominent in the visual language of the Emwin Arhe (royal treasures). It is found on two elephant-head pendant masks and as a full figure, with a chief standing on top of it, on some staffs, but more recurrently only as a trunk, either curved or straight, sometimes terminating in a human fist clenching a bunch of leaves. For example, in her PhD thesis, Barbara Blackmun ( ) identified eight different kinds of ‘trunk hand’ motifs on the Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks) alone.

When a chief or important man passes away, it is said in Edo that ‘an elephant has fallen out of society’. Eni are also said to be the ogie (lord) of the animals, and together these associations have led to the interpretation of Eni as symbols of chiefs, possibly even rebel chiefs, in Benin iconography ( ). Based on the qualities of the animals themselves, representations of Eni on the Emwin Arhe (royal treasures) are believed to represent “physical power, leadership, wisdom, and longevity” ( ).