Depicting the exile of the Benin Oda, Ovonramwen. Although the British had orders to hang the Oba, Ovonramwen escaped, but returned to the city to formally surrender on 5 August 1897. When Ovonramwen returned to the city, after six months spent evading capture in the forest, he was richly dressed and laden with coral beads and accompanied by an entourage of seven hundred to eight hundred people.

This is an exceptional and large Benin bronze boat, cast using the traditional lost wax process giving it a crude and primitive appearance, likely dating to the mid 20th Century.