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.

As Blavity reported, Davis and Tennon previously launched their JuVee productions banner, which released The Woman King — inspired by the West African female warriors of the Dahomey tribe ...