Art Ofbenin

Assignment 05

The Art of Benin Read Reading 1.1, ‘From Duarte Pacheco Pereira, Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis, c.1505–8’ in Book 3, Chapter 1 and look closely at Plate 3.1.9 ‘Unknown artist, relief plaque showing three figures with manila’ in the Illustration Book. What do these sources tell us about fifteenth- and sixteenth-century cross-cultural encounters?

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In this essay I will be mentioning the cultural encounters between Europe (Portuguese) and Benin within the 15th Century and 16th Century. I will be focusing on the encounters between the both countries including the trade objects such as Brass, sculpture, gold and slaves within these century’s going towards the imperial confrontations of the late nineteenth century.

Since the late 19th century the greatest power of West Africa was the Kingdom of Benin in what it is now the southwest Nigeria. Within the 15th century the European Ship’s began to visit West Africa. This was Benin gained control of the trade between the inland peoples and the European Coast. In 1897 the British sent there army to Benin to capture the King of Benin, they destroyed his palace and took the large quantities of sculpture and regalia which includes the works in wood, ivory and Brass. There was certain things that came from the royal altars of the king’s ancestors along with large number of brass plaques that’s made to decorate the wooden pillars. This were bought to the British attention that these could have been made between 1550-1650 as most of them showed a vivid picture of the court and the kingdom at that particular time.

By the River of Nigel was a small powerful West African Kingdom of Benin. The Kingdom of Benin was mostly recognised through the Portuguese’s traders within the 15th century. When the European (Portuguese) merchant ships began to visit West Africa, Benin then became to control the trade between the inland peoples and the Europeans (Portuguese) on the coast. Benin became wealthy through this due to their trading Slaves for Gold and there Brass.

African Art was more likely to be taken from Artefacts with a practical use. Whereas Western art suggests a sort of sophistication or complexity on the creation of artworks for their own sake. An example the Benin bronzes were not intended as more decoration but more to symbolise the power of the Oba and the Structure of the Benin society.    Within the Illustration book there are a few examples of the Benin Bronzes. I believe that they are confounded any easy notion of African art as unsophisticated.

The Benin Bronze plaques where mainly as decorations for the halls of the king’s palace, however they were designed to proclaim and glorify the prestige of the king and his achievements. The Plaque would then give an informative but only show one side of the Kingdom of Benin. However it don’t show or explain much on how the people in Benin lived just a small image of how most townspeople lived such as the King himself.  Also there isn’t any Women or even children in theses Plaques, I Wonder why? “Kingdom of Benin, had an Artistic consequences” (woods, 2015)this was recognised from Benin’s supply of raw materials such as copper, brass and made into sculpture.

Plate 3.1.9 in the illustration book, was a Benin Plate. Showing three warriors carrying there bronze manilas of which could be bronze bracelets. This was the material that the Portuguese would trade with Benin.  The Benin plate was made between the 16th and 17th century, the plate was made by Edo using brass as the material.  The plate was made by using the Last was cast technique. This technique is where a full scale of the model is made using a wax over clay core. It is then coated again with the same materials, soon as this goes hard the wax will then be melted through the vents which then leaves its cavity that’s between the core and the outer coating. Pegs are then needed to keep the core and outer layer in relationship. The cavity is then filled with the molten bronze or brass. This will then for the shape of the original wax.  

The Benin sculpture is rectangular with couple of parts missing from the decay over the years.  Can see that there are holes in all four corners, maybe this is where they get handed up to frame in some way.  The background to the Plate is decorated with a stylish Quatrefoil patterns and stippling.  The Plate has three men standing wearing European stylish hats. Where the two outer men hold manilas where the figure in the middle hold a staff with a crocodile head on top.

Duarte Pacheco Pereira was one of the Portuguese explorers of West Africa.  Pereira wrote the book Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis, not long after the trades of the Benin Slaves and there copper/ Brass.  We look at a specific part of Pereira’s book within Reading 1.1.  The Audience Pereira intended this document for was advice for the follow mariner’s.  The type of document Reading 1.1 was, a first handed evidence of reasonable reliability. So everything that was mention about the slaves and brass traders were true facts that Pereira saw himself.  In Readings 1.1 and 1.2 it shows the contact between the Europeans (Portuguese) and Benin. Noting that these were factual accounts. To educate the traders who would come after Pereira. The Historical content of Reading 1.1 is the Copper bracelets/ Copper Manilas were used as a currency within the slave trade. This can be melted down to make the brass work. This is what Benin is quiet famous for. This made the metal supplies vast increase its number.