An extremely rare Benin bronze ancestral plaque, 16th/17th century, depicting 3 men, naked other than jewellery and hair ornamentation, finely incised tattoos, 45cm x 36cm, together with Aventis laboratory report analysis confirming the age and metal composition of the plaque, provenance: purchased by the present vendor at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries Maine USA 2013, together with the auction catalogue which states the previous vendor as a private Maine collector and that this plaque had Nigerian export forms (no longer present) There is an area between the 2 right-hand figures where there are holes in the background, 4 original mounting holes at all 4 corners, general surface abrasions and slight deforming through natural age