These artefacts are "royal treasures", an early title card in Mati Diop's documentary Dahomey informs us, that were pilfered from the kingdom of Dahomey by French colonisers in an 1892 invasion.

“Dahomey” by Mati Diop (France, Senegal, Benin) Diop became the first-ever Black filmmaker to win the Berlinale Golden Bear in 2024 with her follow-up to 2019’s highly acclaimed “Atlantics.