Benin Bronzes
Bronze casting is one of Nigeria’s important cultural trademarks and inheritances from the ancient Kingdom of Benin till date.
The Benin Bronzes are more than a thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now modern-day Nigeria.
Collectively, the objects form the best-known examples of Benin art, created from the thirteenth century onwards, by the Edo people, which also included other sculptures in brass or bronze, including some famous portrait heads and smaller pieces.
Bronze and ivory objects had a variety of functions in the ritual and courtly life of the Kingdom of Benin. They were used principally to decorate the royal palace, which contained many bronze works. As a royal art, their principal objective was to glorify the Oba and the palace.
Art in the Kingdom of Benin took many forms, of which bronze and brass reliefs and the heads of kings and queen mothers are the best known. Bronze receptacles, bells, ornaments, jewelry, and ritual objects also possessed aesthetic qualities and originality, demonstrating the skills of their makers, although they are often eclipsed by figurative works in bronze and ivory carvings.
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The Benin Bronzes are more naturalistic than most African art of the period. The bronze surfaces are designed to highlight contrasts between light and metal. The features of many of the heads are exaggerated from natural proportions, with large ears, noses, and lips, which are shaped with great care.
The most notable aspect of the works is the high level of the great metalworking skill at lost-wax casting. The descendants of these artisans still revere Igue-Igha, as the person who introduced the art of casting to the Kingdom of Benin.
Bronze casting is still going on today in Benin city. Igun Street in Benin city is home to the bronze casters where they make and sell their creatives. Igun street has been made a cultural heritage site by UNESCO based on the hundreds of years of bronze art creation.
If you find yourself in Benin, kindly visit Igun street, take some pictures and buy art pieces.
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