The ‘Benin Bronzes’ (made of brass and bronze) are a group of sculptures which include elaborately decorated cast relief plaques, commemorative heads, animal and human figures, items of royal regalia, and personal ornaments. They were created from at least the 1500s onwards in the West African Kingdom of Benin, by a specialist guild working for the royal court of the Oba (king) in Benin City. The Kingdom also supported guilds working in other materials such as ivory, wood, leather, coral/red stone and textiles, and the term ‘Benin Bronzes’ is sometimes used to refer to historic objects produced using these other materials.
The Benin Bronzes come from Benin City, the historic capital of the Kingdom of Benin, a major city state in West Africa from the medieval period. Benin City was incorporated into the British Empire from 1897 to 1960 and is now located within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
By the end of the 1800s, the Nigerian coast and its trade were largely dominated by the British. It is in the context of this aggressive expansion of colonial power that the Benin Bronzes came to the British Museum.
Conclusion
Beautiful historical art work for the world to see and admire. Albeit somehow acquired from another world, a world that would like to be in full possession of it all again one glorious day.
Editor’s Note
There are many such articles and artefacts that are stored and archived in Britain, often with a deep hidden history of how they were acquired.
Source: British Museum
