Benin Bronzes Essay Example

these artefacts, the trade in art works between the Benin people and the traders began to escalate. The manilla was a much prized piece of jewellery for the Benin artists, not just as an adornment but, as it was made from brass, it was a valuable material for their artwork. Up to the time the Portuguese traders arrived, most of the Benin sculptures were made of bronze, this being due to a scarcity of the harder wearing alloys contained in brass.

Indeed the Benin people accepted every brass gift from the Portuguese and then set about melting the artefacts down in order to create their own art materials. Benin history is recorded without any written documentation. Generation after generation have passed down the history of the Benin people orally. This has been reinforced by pictorial images in Benin art and effigies. Sculptures of Obas, Benin Queens, and Queen Mothers, these in addition to everyday images of Benin life, alter scenes and so on, are represented in their historical elegance.

No surprise then to see when the Portuguese arrived and became a part of that history, they were depicted in their unusual clothes, weapons and everyday pursuits such as hunting, (British Museum). It is unusual to note that the majority of these art pieces are by unknown artist, even with just an oral historical record, one would think the names of the most prominent artists would be recorded! Bibliography OU(AA100) British Museum The Art of Benin, Part 2 How and why have European attitudes to the display of Benin Art in museums and galleries changed? The Portuguese arrived in Benin in the 15th Century.

They came as peaceful traders

and viewing Benin art from around this time, it would appear that this was a successful trading partnership. It is naive to think that a Western Colonial Power would enter an African country just to trade commodities with them, just as the Portuguese had done in Benin. The status quo was not to last. The most predatory Colonial Power the world had ever known was about to make its mark on Benin history. After the obligatory skirmishes and massacre of a small expeditionary force, raising anger in the home country, a fighting force was sent to subjugate the natives of Benin, the British had arrived!

Now the sacking and pillaging of another African country, including its art treasures, could begin in earnest. On 17 February 1897, Benin City fell to the British. In the retaliatory invasion of the kingdom, a 1200-strong British force, under the command of Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, conquered and burnt the city, destroying much of the citys and indeed the country's treasured art and dispersing nearly all that remained. The 'Benin Bronzes,' portrait figures, busts, and groups created in iron, carved ivory, and especially in bronze, were taken from the city by the British and are displayed in museums around the world.

Of course it was not only the British that had expansionist plans, the Dutch, French, Italians and Spanish were also searching the globe for trade and colonial acquisition opportunities. It was traditional then, that when a “Super Power” took the role of conqueror, the rewards would not only include trading commodities such as herbs, spices, furs, precious metals, slaves and so on. The rewards for all the effort in adding these

colonies to the mother country would also include the removal of works of art for display back in the Mother Country.

These artefacts would be held in awe by the population when they went on display in museums or art galleries. Marvelling at how such primitive people could be capable of such exquisite workmanship. The museums would draw large crowds to view the exhibitions. These works came from all over the world, China, Egypt, Africa, North and South America even India, the jewel in the empirical crown. These displays formed the catalyst for a massive growth throughout Europe of museums and galleries. They were huge money generators for the owners of these establishments.

It was a given that the conqueror had the right to keep and display anything that was captured during these conflicts. The Benin artwork seen in museums around the world today was systematically plundered from Benin City by the British in 1897 as part of a punitive expedition in reprisal for the massacre of an overzealous Trade Delegation. The British acquired over 2400 objects from and around the Oba’s palace which were split between the army officers involved as ‘War Booty’ and the British Government who auctioned off many of the finest pieces to pay for the expedition. These were returned to England for sale with the intention f recouping the cost of the expedition, most of the treasures were bought by Germans.

The attitudes to towards the display of Benin Art, adopted by European museums and galleries have dramatically changed over the 112 year period since their initial acquisition. This has been for a number of reasons including the societal transition from accepting colonialism

to acknowledging cultural diversity, the gradual integration and cross-fertilisation across the academic fields of anthropology, ethnography and art history and the on-going debate regarding provenance and repatriation.

However, given the overarching principle of self-determination it is difficult to argue that unexpected historic placement is sufficient reason for items of true national heritage to be kept indefinitely. A world-wide system of touring exhibitions and cultural exchange, with context being provided by the originating society may provide the natural progression to the accessible widening of people’s experiences. This isn’t certain however. Many of the works of art are owned by private individuals or private collections.

The clamour for repatriation of objects is growing. The consensus of the present Western guardians of these art works seems to be one of protection and sharing. Protection, they are kept in reasonably secure countries and environments. Sharing, the exhibits are sent on tour for display in various countries. All African countries have been victims of similar aggressions and deprivations of their cultural objects. Many still call African art, primitive art. Others call it, primary arts or in French, “arts premiers”.

Whatever the difference in terminology, they are all united in their determination not to return these objects to their rightful owners, the Africans. A group of directors of some eighteen major museums in Europe and the United States of America, including the British Museum, London, the Louvre, Paris, Guggenheim Museum, New York, State Museums Berlin, Prado Museum, Madrid and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, signed on 10 December, 2002, a so-called ‘Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums’.

Assuming openly an extreme Eurocentric position, these directors forcefully declared their museums ‘Universal Museums’ and stated that

“Over time, objects so acquired-whether by purchase, gift, or partage, have become part of the museums that have cared for them, and by extension part of the heritage of the nations which house them. ” Even in claiming a universal role, these museums cannot escape their narrow Eurocentric viewpoint.

They measure their universality by the extent to which they have been able to influence the European appreciation of African art: There are obvious liberal leanings towards repatriation of the Benin treasures, but it will take a long time for these good intentions to bear fruition.

Bibliography

1. OU(AA100 DVD)
2. Wikipedia Allafrica. com
3. Tropicalmarkets. com
4. Forafricanart. com