Chapter 1 The Art Of Benin I
Chapter One
The Art of Benin I
I. Introduction
A. Cultural Encounters Between Europe and Benin from the Fifteenth to the Twentieth Century
1. The trade in objects in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
2. The imperial confrontations of the late nineteenth century
3. The engagement with ideas about art in the twentieth century
B. European Contacts with Benin Europeans first became aware of the existence of Benin through Portuguese traders in the fifteenth century. The accounts left behind indicate that the first contacts between Europeans and the people of Benin were based on the exchange of goods, which included ivory carvings. Direct European contact with Benin was limited during the era of the slave trade (approximately 1650–1850) and little more was learned about the kingdom until British imperial forces conquered it in 1897. The encounter between British and Benin culture continues. Migration and globalisation have made people more aware of the way that their different histories are interlinked. In this spirit the British Museum now displays its treasures, including the Benin artworks, as an archive of global, intertwined histories kept in trust for all mankind. On the other hand, some African leaders and scholars argue that the looted Benin objects fulfil a different function in Nigeria from that represented in European museums and galleries. In Benin, history has traditionally been recorded through the arts – through songs, art objects and ceremonies – rather than written down. As such, works of art constitute a crucial repository for representing the past and, it is argued, they should be returned to Benin.
II. The Art of Benin
Activity (p. 5) This brass head of a Queen probably dates from the early sixteenth century and was made in Benin (Plate 3.1.1). Examine it carefully. If you have expectations of African art, does this conform to them? Choose three or four words to characterise this sculpture.
Discussion
‘Surprising’, ‘sophisticated’ and
The Art of Benin I
I. Introduction
A. Cultural Encounters Between Europe and Benin from the Fifteenth to the Twentieth Century
1. The trade in objects in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
2. The imperial confrontations of the late nineteenth century
3. The engagement with ideas about art in the twentieth century
B. European Contacts with Benin Europeans first became aware of the existence of Benin through Portuguese traders in the fifteenth century. The accounts left behind indicate that the first contacts between Europeans and the people of Benin were based on the exchange of goods, which included ivory carvings. Direct European contact with Benin was limited during the era of the slave trade (approximately 1650–1850) and little more was learned about the kingdom until British imperial forces conquered it in 1897. The encounter between British and Benin culture continues. Migration and globalisation have made people more aware of the way that their different histories are interlinked. In this spirit the British Museum now displays its treasures, including the Benin artworks, as an archive of global, intertwined histories kept in trust for all mankind. On the other hand, some African leaders and scholars argue that the looted Benin objects fulfil a different function in Nigeria from that represented in European museums and galleries. In Benin, history has traditionally been recorded through the arts – through songs, art objects and ceremonies – rather than written down. As such, works of art constitute a crucial repository for representing the past and, it is argued, they should be returned to Benin.
II. The Art of Benin
Activity (p. 5) This brass head of a Queen probably dates from the early sixteenth century and was made in Benin (Plate 3.1.1). Examine it carefully. If you have expectations of African art, does this conform to them? Choose three or four words to characterise this sculpture.
Discussion
‘Surprising’, ‘sophisticated’ and