Benin Antiquities At The British Museum Analysis
Read the following extract from reading 2.2 ‘Benin antiquities at the British Museum’ and look at Plates 3.1.14 British officers of the Benin punitive expedition with bronzes and ivories taken from the royal compound, Benin City, 1897 and 3.2.24 Display of Benin bronzes in the Sainsbury African Galleries, the British Museum, 2005 in the AA100 Illustration Book.
How do the different contexts of display reflect different attitudes to the art of Benin?
At the end of the 19th century, Africa was known colloquially among Europeans as the Dark Continent. Whether owing to its mystery or its? residents’ pigments, its lack of centralized states made easy pickings for the expansionist European nations. In the age known as new imperialism, the European …show more content…
With such wealth, many Britons had the economic freedom to become scholars, as they still do, fields like ethnography benefiting from Britain's global reach. With such a proportion of people involved in the academic debate and with such exposure to the international stage, opinions changed. Today with the British Empire gone, the attitude of leaders, people, and academics have changed and antiquated ideas expunged from modern consciousness.
The Leaders of nations dictate courses of state; as the path of nations change so do the attitudes of those who live within them. Britain possessed a vast empire in the 19th century, the triangle trade of slaves to the Americas had set a precedent for the exploitation of the continent. With colonies already established another precedent existed for further annexation. The photo of the officers of the Benin punitive expedition, tells much of their attitude about their role in the conquest. The objects seized are littered around the feet of the officers; they sit high above the objects to indicate their status as conquerors displaying their loot. Various objects of differing use are scattered next to each other, with practical objects such as the flagons, ornamental like statutes, and raw materials in …show more content…
The leaders of Britain, ruling over other nations believed in their supremacy, but in the modern era, the empire is gone and a cordial approach towards other cultures is called for. The people of Britain were enchanted by the trappings of Imperialism and the supremacy of their culture, now the populace has unparalleled access to discourse on cultural works. Modern academics now separate themselves from the pseudoscience of the past. Opinions on culture are never static and what can seem irrefutable can change. How the populace viewed African art changed dramatically from the 19th to 21st century, the opinions of the 23rd century might also be wildly
How do the different contexts of display reflect different attitudes to the art of Benin?
At the end of the 19th century, Africa was known colloquially among Europeans as the Dark Continent. Whether owing to its mystery or its? residents’ pigments, its lack of centralized states made easy pickings for the expansionist European nations. In the age known as new imperialism, the European …show more content…
With such wealth, many Britons had the economic freedom to become scholars, as they still do, fields like ethnography benefiting from Britain's global reach. With such a proportion of people involved in the academic debate and with such exposure to the international stage, opinions changed. Today with the British Empire gone, the attitude of leaders, people, and academics have changed and antiquated ideas expunged from modern consciousness.
The Leaders of nations dictate courses of state; as the path of nations change so do the attitudes of those who live within them. Britain possessed a vast empire in the 19th century, the triangle trade of slaves to the Americas had set a precedent for the exploitation of the continent. With colonies already established another precedent existed for further annexation. The photo of the officers of the Benin punitive expedition, tells much of their attitude about their role in the conquest. The objects seized are littered around the feet of the officers; they sit high above the objects to indicate their status as conquerors displaying their loot. Various objects of differing use are scattered next to each other, with practical objects such as the flagons, ornamental like statutes, and raw materials in …show more content…
The leaders of Britain, ruling over other nations believed in their supremacy, but in the modern era, the empire is gone and a cordial approach towards other cultures is called for. The people of Britain were enchanted by the trappings of Imperialism and the supremacy of their culture, now the populace has unparalleled access to discourse on cultural works. Modern academics now separate themselves from the pseudoscience of the past. Opinions on culture are never static and what can seem irrefutable can change. How the populace viewed African art changed dramatically from the 19th to 21st century, the opinions of the 23rd century might also be wildly