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85-646: The Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry opened for business in 1851 in Berlin, Germany, under the leadership of its founder, Carl Gustav Hermann Gladenbeck. It was one of the most important foundries in Germany, known for its high quality bronze castings . Some of the first bronze sculptures that emerged from the foundry were marked "Gladenbeck" with subsequent castings over the years being marked "Gladenbeck und Sohn", "Akt-Ges v.H. Gladenbeck", "Akt-Ges Gladenbeck Berlin" or "Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck". The foundry cast many of

170-475: A patina , a process that allows some control over the colour and finish. Another form of sculptural art that uses bronze is ormolu , a finely cast soft bronze that is gilded (coated with gold) to produce a matte gold finish. Ormolu was popularized in the 18th century in France and is found in such forms as wall sconces (wall-mounted candle holders), inkstands, clocks and garnitures . Ormolu wares can be identified by

255-810: A Benin Bronze head was sold to a private collector for a record fee of £10 million. In 2018, an agreement was made between the Benin Dialogue Group (BDG) and the government in London to return Benin Bronzes that will be used to form a temporary exhibition at the New Benin Royal Museum in Edo State . The group comprises representatives of several international museums, the Royal Court of Benin, Edo State Government and

340-748: A clear ring when tapped, showing that they are made of bronze, not a cheaper alloy such as spelter or pewter . Benin Bronzes The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin , in what is now Edo State , Nigeria . The metal plaques were produced by the Guild of Benin Bronze Casters, now located in Igun Street , also known as Igun-Eronmwon Quarters. Collectively,

425-482: A complex process. It starts with a tree trunk or branch and is carved directly. The artist obtains the final form of the work from a block of wood. Since it was customary to use freshly cut wood in carvings, once the piece was finalized the surface was charred to prevent cracking during drying. This also allowed for polychromatic artworks, which were achieved using knife cuts and applications of natural pigments made with vegetable oil or palm oil . This type of grease, which

510-553: A future museum on, or near, his palace grounds. European journalists noted that the ″ Edo Museum of West African Art ″, for whose construction Germany had pledged 4 million Euros, would most likely remain empty. Swiss ethnologist Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin concluded that Germany's 2022 restitution policy was a fiasco. According to journalists, the German government returned the Benin bronzes to Nigeria under certain conditions which were ignored by

595-517: A handover ceremony held on 28 October 2021. In April 2021, the German government declared the restitution of "looted" Benin bronzes in Germany's public collections by 2022. Hartmut Dorgerloh, the director of the Humboldt Forum , which incorporates the Ethnological Museum of Berlin , said at a press event that exhibiting the Benin bronzes in the new museum complex in Berlin as earlier planned

680-822: A large quantity of bronze wall plaques to the British Museum; these plaques illustrated the history of the Benin Kingdom in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The two largest collections of Benin Bronzes are located in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and in the British Museum in London, while the third largest collection is located in several museums in Nigeria (principally the Nigerian National Museum in Lagos). Since gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria has sought

765-597: A larger one in the center of the sculpture. In the early 1920s, art deco master Ferdinand Preiss employed Gladenbeck to cast many of his bronze and chryselephantine sculptures. . . The foundry went out of business in 1926 when it declared bankruptcy. Bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures ; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs , and small statuettes and figurines , as well as bronze elements to be fitted to other objects such as furniture. It

850-407: A looted artefact. The statue had previously been removed from display in 2016, after student calls for the statue to be repatriated; following investigation by the college's Legacy of Slavery Working Party (LSWP), it was ascertained that the statue had been directly taken from the court of Benin, and had been gifted to the college by the father of a student in 1905. In February 2022, two Benin bronzes,

935-406: A number of mechanical applications. Historical bronzes are highly variable in composition, as most metalworkers probably used whatever scrap was on hand; the metal of the 12th-century English Gloucester Candlestick is bronze containing a mixture of copper, zinc, tin, lead, nickel, iron, antimony, arsenic with an unusually large amount of silver – between 22.5% in the base and 5.76% in

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1020-514: A person's head was the receptacle of the supernatural guide for rational behavior. The head of an Oba was especially sacred, since the survival, security, and prosperity of all Edo citizens and their families, depended on his wisdom. In the annual festivals to reinforce the mystical power of the Oba, the king made ritual offerings in these sanctuaries, which were considered essential for the continuation of his reign. The stylistic variation of these bronze heads

1105-431: A plaster is a means of preserving the artwork until a patron may be found to finance a bronze casting, either from the original moulds or from a new mould made from the refined plaster positive. Once a production mould is obtained, a wax (hollow for larger sculptures) is then cast from the mould. For a hollow sculpture, a core is then cast into the void, and is retained in its proper location (after wax melting) by pins of

1190-492: A restart of the Benin Bronze Age in the reign of the current Oba of Benin, Ewuare II . It therefore honours the Oba and was even offered in exchange for the bronzes held by the British Museum. In October 2021, Jesus College , Cambridge , announced that it would be repatriating a sculpture of a cockerel, known as Okukor , to Nigeria, on the 27 October, after the student body brought to light its historical significance as

1275-431: A small edge that is decorated with an incised guilloché pattern. In the other format, which is much narrower, the turned-back edges are missing and the design of the plaque background ends abruptly, as if cut off. These variations probably reflect the size and shape of the palace pillars and the arrangement of the plaques on them. The plaques are generally about 1 ⁄ 8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. The backgrounds on

1360-465: A vast sprawling agglomeration of buildings and courtyards, was the setting for hundreds of rectangular brass plaques whose relief images portray the persons and events that animated the court. 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. They were hung on

1445-849: Is "now not imaginable". Also in April 2021, the Church of England promised to return two Benin bronzes that were given as gifts to the then Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie almost 40 years ago. These bronzes were meant to join the collection of the future Benin Royal Museum. In the same month, the Horniman Museum in South London said it was considering legal advice in terms of repatriation and restitution of 49 works from Benin City including 15 brass plaques, weapons and jewellery in its possession. In response to

1530-555: Is also applied to metal sculptures made by electrotyping (or galvanoplasty), although these sculptures are typically pure copper and their fabrication does not involve metal casting. In lost-wax or investment casting, the artist starts with a full-sized model of the sculpture, most often a non-drying oil-based clay such as Plasticine model for smaller sculptures or for sculptures to be developed over an extended period (water-based clays must be protected from drying), and water-based clay for larger sculptures or for sculptures for which it

1615-426: Is believed that two "Golden Ages" in Benin metal workmanship occurred during the reigns of Esigie (fl. 1550) and of Eresoyen (1735–1750), when their workmanship achieved its highest quality. "The king's palace or court is a square, and is as large as the town of Haarlem and entirely surrounded by a special wall, like that which encircles the town. It is divided into many magnificent palaces, houses, and apartments of

1700-406: Is desired to capture a gestural quality – one that transmits the motion of the sculptor in addition to that of the subject. A mould is made from the clay pattern, either as a piece mould from plaster, or using flexible gel or similar rubber-like materials stabilized by a plaster jacket of several pieces. Often a plaster master will be made from this mould for further refinement. Such

1785-682: Is not to be confused as a response to repatriation requests, as the Institution owns a collection of about 160 Benin Bronzes. Instead, the museum describes this transfer as a return of plaques that were stolen from the National Museum in Lagos in the 1950s. In January 2022, the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle , England, agreed to return a Benin Bronze stave to Nigeria. In March 2022,

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1870-531: Is often gilded to give gilt-bronze or ormolu . Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mould. Then, as the bronze cools, it shrinks a little, making it easier to separate from the mould. Their strength and ductility (lack of brittleness) is an advantage when figures in action poses are to be created, especially when compared to various ceramic or stone materials (such as marble sculpture ). These qualities allow

1955-407: Is removed to reduce the likelihood of interior corrosion. Incomplete voids created by gas pockets or investment inclusions are then corrected by welding and carving. Small defects where sprues and vents were attached are filed or ground down and polished. For a large sculpture, the artist will usually prepare small study models until the pose and proportions are determined. An intermediate-sized model

2040-513: Is such an important characteristic of Beninese art that it constitutes the primary scientific basis for establishing a chronology. The leopard is a motif that occurs throughout many of the Benin Bronzes, because it is the animal which symbolizes the Oba. Another recurring motif is the royal triad: the Oba in the centre, flanked by two assistants, highlighting the support of those who the king trusted in order to govern. According to some sources,

2125-405: Is then constructed with all of the final details. For very large works, this may again be scaled to a larger intermediate. From the final scale model, measuring devices are used to determine the dimensions of an armature for the structural support of a full-size temporary piece, which is brought to rough form by wood, cardboard, plastic foam, and/or paper to approximately fill the volume while keeping

2210-600: The Indus Valley Civilisation and dating back to c.  2500 BCE , is perhaps the first known bronze statue. Life-sized bronze statues in Ancient Greece have been found in good condition; one is the seawater-preserved bronze Victorious Youth that required painstaking efforts to bring it to its present state for museum display. Far more Roman bronze statues have survived. The ancient Chinese knew both lost-wax casting and section mould casting, and during

2295-523: The Shang dynasty created large numbers of Chinese ritual bronzes , ritual vessels covered with complex decoration, which were buried in sets of up to 200 pieces in the tombs of royalty and the nobility. Over the long creative period of Egyptian dynastic art, small lost-wax bronze figurines were made in large numbers; several thousand of them have been conserved in museum collections. The 7th-8th century Sri Lankan Sinhalese bronze statue of Buddhist Tara , now in

2380-643: The Smithsonian Institution announced that 39 bronzes would be repatriated. The bronzes are meant to be on display at the future National Museum of Benin City. The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art signed over ownership of 29 Benin bronzes to the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments in a formal ceremony on 11 October 2022, in Washington D.C., with Nigerian leaders and cultural officials in attendance; at

2465-551: The Three Dancing Maidens Untermyer fountain by sculptor Walter Schott . The fountain is located in Conservatory Garden, Central Park , New York. The sculpture – situated on a limestone plinth – depicts three young ladies holding hands in a circle "whose dresses cling to their wet bodies as if they were perpetually in the fountain's spray". The fountain includes three jets, two on the oval pool's sides and

2550-497: The early modern period . The Kingdom of Benin was a hub of African civilization long before Portuguese traders visited, and bronzes were made in Benin prior to the arrival of the Portuguese. The Benin bronze sculpture tradition is thought to have derived from or been influenced by that of the older nearby Kingdom of Ife in southwest Nigeria. While the collection is known as the Benin Bronzes, like most West African " bronzes "

2635-402: The 1960s, historians have increasingly understood the expedition to depose Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (Overami) who had acceded to the throne in 1888, not as a retaliation, but to have been dictated by policy for a long time." Some consider that this creates an ambiguity surrounding the objects' ownership which has bearing on the possible modern return of the bronzes to Benin. The works taken by

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2720-894: The Benin Bronzes in Western museums. They also tried to prevent the repatriating of Benin Bronzes by the Smithsonian Institution in October 2024. In November 2022, ARTnews magazine and other media reported that the Digital Benin online database had been created by a number of museums, including both experts from Nigeria ( National Museum Lagos and Benin City National Museum ) as well as from other African and Western institutions. Digital Benin lists 131 institutions from 20 countries with Benin cultural heritage in their collections. This new online platform allows visitors to learn about

2805-565: The Benin Expedition belong to the Royal Family in Benin City . Effective for objects that have been restituted and those to be restituted in the future. The Royal Family alone should be responsible for safekeeping and management. The bronzes were thereby turned into private property, to the exclusion of every other person and institution. Oba Ewuare II announced his plans to put them into

2890-419: The Benin artists may have been inspired by items brought during the arrival of the Portuguese, including European illuminated books, small ivory caskets with carved lids from India, and Indian miniature paintings. The quatrefoil "river leaves" might have originated from European or Islamic art, but by contrast, Babatunde Lawal cites examples of relief carving in southern Nigerian art to support his theory that

2975-711: The British Empire's control was being consolidated in Southern Nigeria . This expedition was positioned by British sources as retaliation for a massacre of an unarmed party of British envoys and a large number of their African bearers in January 1897. Some contemporary scholars, such as Dan Hicks , argue that the expedition was part of a broader series of premeditated attacks, framed as retaliatory or punitive, to further European imperialistic and economic interests in Africa. Following

3060-482: The British Museum's continued refusal to return looted Benin bronzes, the Iyase (traditional prime minister) of Benin Kingdom unveiled the largest bronze plaque to date on 30 July 2021. The plaque contains over 2 tons of brass and was created by one of the grandsons of the current Iyase of Benin Kingdom, Lukas Osarobo Zeickner-Okoro. It is titled 'The Return of Oba Ewuare' to symbolise the Benin belief in reincarnation and

3145-601: The British Museum, is an excellent example of Sri Lankan bronze statues. From the ninth through the thirteenth century the Chola dynasty in South India represented the pinnacle of bronze casting in India. Making bronzes is highly skilled work, and a number of distinct casting processes may be employed, including lost-wax casting (and its modern-day spin-off investment casting ), sand casting and centrifugal casting . The term "bronze"

3230-686: The British were a treasure hoard of bronze and ivory sculptures, including king heads, queen mother heads, leopard figurines, bells, and a great number of images sculpted in high relief , all of which were executed with a mastery of lost-wax casting. In 1910, German researcher Leo Frobenius carried out an expedition to Africa with the aim of collecting works of African art for museums in his country. Today perhaps as few as fifty pieces remain in Nigeria although approximately 2,400 pieces are held in European and American collections. The Benin Bronzes that were part of

3315-846: The German museums and the Nigerian government and some of the objects could remain in display in Germany under custody agreements. Hermann Parzinger , the head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation , an authority that oversees many of Berlin's museums, said a “representative collection of objects” would remain in the German capital on a long-term loan. On 28 November 2022, the Horniman Museum in London held an official ceremony, unconditionally transferring ownership of its Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria. A few months later, on 23 March 2023, departing President Muhammadu Buhari declared by decree, that all restituted objects from

3400-503: The Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments. In 2015, Mark Walker returned some Benin Bronzes that were taken by his grandfather during the siege on Benin Kingdom, and he was received by Prince Edun Akenzua in Benin City. The University of Aberdeen agreed in March 2021 to return a bronze head of an Oba, that had been purchased at an auction in 1957. The return was completed at

3485-466: The Nigerian government between 1950 and 1972. In 1950, the museum's curator Hermann Braunholtz declared that, although made individually, of the 203 plaques acquired by the Museum in 1898, 30 were duplicates; because they were identical representations, he determined that they were superfluous for the museum and were sold. The sales stopped in 1972 and the museum's African art specialist said that they regretted

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3570-696: The Nigerian president. In August 2022, an African-American slavery reparations activist group in the US, called the Restitution Study Group, petitioned against the United Kingdom's Charity Commission repatriating the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. The group argued that in the country's history, African people had been complicit in selling captives into the Atlantic slave trade . Instead, the group suggested that descendants of enslaved Africans should have co-ownership over

3655-479: The attack, the victors took the works of art decorating the Royal Palace and the residences of the nobility, which had been accumulated over many centuries. According to the official account of this event written by the British, the attack was warranted because the local people had ambushed a peaceful mission, and because the expedition liberated the population from a reign of terror. A 2020 book suggests that; "since

3740-555: The beginning of the nineteenth century, when colonization and missionary activity began, did larger numbers of African works begin to be taken to Europe, where they were described as simple curiosities of "pagan" cults. This attitude changed after the Benin Expedition of 1897. In 1897, the vice consul general James Robert Phillips , of the Niger Coast Protectorate , together with six other British officials, two businessmen, translators, and 215 porters, set off toward Benin from

3825-523: The best known bronze sculptures created by German artists in the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century. In addition to serving the usually modest casting requirements of German sculptors, the foundry was also capable of casting large-scale bronze statues. In 1913 the Gladenbeck foundry cast the monumental Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery . In 1910, Gladenbeck cast

3910-520: The booty of the punitive expedition of 1897 had different destinations: one portion ended up in the private collections of various British officials; the Foreign and Commonwealth Office sold a large number, which later ended up in various European museums, mainly in Germany, and in American museums. The high quality of the pieces was reflected in the high prices they fetched on the market. The Foreign Office gave

3995-613: The bust of a Head of an Oba and the bronze cockerel Okukor, that had been returned by the University of Aberdeen and Jesus College, Cambridge, were received at the royal palace in Benin City by the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II. In December 2022, the University of Cambridge legally transferred ownership of more than 100 Benin artefacts from its Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to the National Commission of Museums and Monuments (NCMM) of Nigeria. A museum spokesperson declared that some of

4080-474: The city while rituals were being conducted; however, the travellers ignored the warning and continued on their expedition. They were ambushed at the south of the city by Oba warriors, and only two Europeans survived the ensuing massacre. News of the incident reached London eight days later and a naval punitive expedition was organized immediately, which was to be directed by Admiral Harry Rawson . British forces sacked and destroyed Benin City. Following

4165-425: The courtiers, and comprises beautiful and long square galleries...resting on wooden pillars, from top to bottom covered with cast copper, on which are engraved the pictures of their war exploits and battles, and are kept very clean." Olfert Dapper , a Dutch writer, describing Benin in his book Description of Africa (1668) The Kingdom of Benin , which occupied southern parts of present-day Nigeria between

4250-538: The creation of extended figures, as in Jeté , or figures that have small cross sections in their support, such as the equestrian statue of Richard the Lionheart . But the value of the bronze for uses other than making statues is disadvantageous to the preservation of sculptures; few large ancient bronzes have survived, as many were melted down to make weapons or ammunition in times of war or to create new sculptures commemorating

4335-543: The expedition, two hundred pieces were taken to the British Museum in London, while the rest were taken to other European museums. A large number are held by the British Museum with other notable collections in Germany and the United States. Late 19th-century scholars O.M. Dalton and C.H. Read erroneously concluded that Benin knowledge of metallurgy came from the Portuguese traders , who were in contact with Benin in

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4420-570: The fourteenth and nineteenth centuries, was rich in sculptures of diverse materials, such as iron, bronze, wood, ivory and terra cotta. The Oba 's palace in Benin City , the site of production for the royal ancestral altars , also was the site for an elaborate court ceremonial life in which the Oba of Benin , his warriors, chiefs and titleholders, priests, members of the palace societies and their constituent guilds, foreign merchants and mercenaries, and numerous retainers and attendants all took part. The palace,

4505-474: The fourteenth century, but the bulk of the collection dates to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is believed that two "Golden Ages" in Benin metal workmanship occurred during the reigns of Esigie ( fl. 1550) and of Eresoyen (1735–1750), when their workmanship achieved its highest quality. Most of the plaques and other objects were taken by British forces during the Benin Expedition of 1897 as

4590-414: The front of most of the plaques are incised with foliate patterns bearing one to four leaves, which is referred to as ebe-ame , or the "river leaf" design. The leaves were used in healing rites by priestesses of Olokun , the god of the sea. Some of the reliefs represent important battles of the sixteenth-century wars of expansion; however, the majority depict dignitaries wearing ceremonial dress. Most of

4675-407: The king could own objects made of bronze and ivory, however, he could allow high-ranking individuals to use such items, such as hanging masks and cuffs made of bronze and ivory. Coral was also a royal material. Coral neck rings were a symbol of nobility and use was granted specifically by the Oba. The rectangular plaques exist in two formats. In one, the long vertical sides are turned back, creating

4760-451: The lack of information even extends to the functional roles of some figures, which cannot conclusively be determined. The bronze heads were reserved for ancestral altars. They were also used as a base for engraved elephant tusks, which were placed in openings in the heads. The commemorative heads of the king or the queen mother were not individual portraits, although they show a stylized naturalism. Instead, they are archetypical depictions;

4845-578: The materials that were most difficult to obtain, such as gold, elephant tusks, and bronze. These kings made possible the creation of the splendid Benin bronzes; thus, the royal courts contributed substantially to the development of sub-Saharan art. In 1939, heads very similar to those of the Kingdom of Benin were discovered in Ife , the holy city of the Yoruba , which dated to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This discovery supported an earlier tradition holding that it

4930-451: The model is made in wax, possibly formed over a core, or with a core cast in place, if the piece is to be hollow. If no mould is made and the casting process fails, the artwork will also be lost. After the metal has cooled, the external ceramic or clay is chipped away, revealing an image of the wax form, including core pins, sprues, vents, and risers. All of these are removed with a saw and tool marks are polished away, and interior core material

5015-460: The objects form the best examples of Benin art and were created from the fourteenth century by artists of the Edo people . The plaques, which in the Edo language are called Ama , depict scenes or represent themes in the history of the kingdom. Apart from the plaques, other sculptures in brass or bronze include portrait heads, jewellery, and smaller pieces. Some of the dramatic sculptures date to

5100-656: The opportunity to experience their heritage. On 1 July 2022, Germany announced the immediate ownership transfer of 1,100 artefacts held by the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, Berlin's Humboldt Forum , the Cologne Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum , Hamburg's Museum am Rothenbaum and the State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony to Nigeria. The physical return of each item will be negotiated between

5185-541: The pan below the candle. The proportions of this mixture may suggest that the candlestick was made from a hoard of old coins. The Benin Bronzes are really brass , and the Romanesque Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège is described as both bronze and brass. In the Bronze Age, two forms of bronze were commonly used: "classic bronze", about 10% tin, was used in casting; and "mild bronze", about 6% tin,

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5270-427: The pieces are mostly made of brass of variable composition. There are also pieces made of mixtures of bronze and brass, of wood, of ceramic, and of ivory, among other materials. The metal pieces were made using lost-wax casting and are considered among the best African sculptures made using this technique. Benin began to trade ivory, pepper, and slaves with the Portuguese in the late 15th century and incorporated

5355-409: The pieces were to remain in Cambridge “on extended loan” to ensure that “this west African civilisation continues to be represented in the museum's displays, and in teaching for school groups." In November 2021, the Metropolitan Museum of Art transferred two sixteenth-century Bronze plaques, a Warrior Chief and Junior Court Official to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments. This transfer

5440-509: The pillars of the palace by nails punched through them. As a courtly art, their principal objective was to glorify the Oba, the divine king, and the history of his imperial power or to honour the Iyoba of Benin (the queen mother). 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, jewellery, and ritual objects also possessed aesthetic qualities and originality, demonstrating

5525-411: The plaques are indigenous to Benin. British archaeologist and anthropologist Dan Hicks discussed the looting of the Benin Bronzes and their current presence within museums around the world. In his book he expressed the view that the looting of the Benin Bronzes are not an 'historical incident of reception' but an 'enduring brutality'. It was also noted that a total figure of looted artefacts from Benin

5610-489: The plaques portray static figures, either alone, in pairs, or in small groups arranged hierarchically around a central figure. Many of the figures depicted in the plaques may be identified only through their clothing and emblems, which indicated their rank and function in the court, but not their individual identities. Although there have been attempts to link some of the depictions with historical figures, these identifications have been speculative and unverified. In certain cases,

5695-491: The return of the bronzes on several occasions. There has also been extensive debate over the location of the bronzes being distant from their place of origin. Often, their return has been considered emblematic of the repatriation of the African continent. The artefacts have become a test case in the international debate over restitution, comparable to that of the Elgin Marbles , and help change attitudes towards repatriation. The British Museum sold more than 30 Benin Bronzes to

5780-416: The sales. A newspaper publication revealed that in 1953, Sotheby's sold a Benin Bronze head for £5,500 when the previous record sale was £780. In 1968, Christies sold for £21,000 a Benin Head that was discovered by an officer around his neighbour's greenhouse. In 1984, Sotheby's auctioned a plaque depicting a musician; its value was estimated at between £25,000 and £35,000 in the auction catalogue. In 2015,

5865-481: The same metal used for casting. One or more wax sprues are added to conduct the molten metal into the sculptures - typically directing the liquid metal from a pouring cup to the bottom of the sculpture, which is then filled from the bottom up in order to avoid splashing and turbulence. Additional sprues may be directed upward at intermediate positions, and various vents may also be added where gases could be trapped. (Vents are not needed for ceramic shell casting, allowing

5950-420: The same time, the National Gallery of Art returned one Benin bronze. The US Supreme Court denied a petition to block the Smithsonian from returning the bronzes. The petition was filed by the Restitution Study Group, who argued the bronzes are linked to the descendants of enslaved people in America, because they were made with metal ignots traded for African slaves, and removing the bronzes would deny Americans

6035-431: The skills of their makers, although they are often eclipsed by figurative works in bronze and ivory carvings. In tropical Africa the technique of lost-wax casting was developed early, as the works from Benin show. When a king died, his successor would order that a bronze head be made of his predecessor. Approximately 170 of these sculptures exist, and the oldest date from the twelfth century. The Oba, or king, monopolized

6120-481: The small port of Sapele , Nigeria, The true intention of the visit is disputed. The delegation's stated aim was to negotiate with the Oba of Benin, while some historians contend that it was a reconnaissance mission disguised as a peaceful diplomatic delegation with the goal of ultimately overthrowing the king (Oba) of Benin . Although they had given word of their intended visit, they were later informed that their journey must be delayed, because no foreigner could enter

6205-565: The specifications, location and provenance of more than 5,000 African artifacts, including maps, high-resolution images, and the title of the works in English and Edo languages. 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

6290-481: The sprue to be simple and direct). The complete wax structure (and core, if previously added) is then invested in another kind of mould or shell, which is heated in a kiln until the wax runs out and all free moisture is removed. The investment is then soon filled with molten bronze. The removal of all wax and moisture prevents the liquid metal from being explosively ejected from the mould by steam and vapour. Students of bronze casting will usually work in direct wax, where

6375-438: The style of their design changed over the centuries, which also occurred with the insignia of the depicted royalty. The elephant tusks with decorative carvings, which may have begun being used as a decorative element in the eighteenth century, show distinct scenes from the reign of a deceased king. As a prerequisite for royal succession, each new Oba had to install an altar in honor of his predecessor. According to popular belief,

6460-517: The thirteenth century. These Benin artisans refined that technique until they were able to cast plaques only an eighth-of-an-inch (3 mm) thick, surpassing the art as practiced by Renaissance masters in Europe. One sixteenth-century bronze, depicting the Oba with Europeans, was featured in A History of the World in 100 Objects , a series of radio programmes that started in 2010 as a collaboration between

6545-521: The use of manillas (brass ingots in the form of bracelets, bought from the Portuguese) as a metal source in their sculpture. The manillas' brass, previously suggested to come from The Netherlands, is now thought to come from the Rhineland region of Germany. Many of the dramatic sculptures date to the thirteenth century, and a large part of the collection dates to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It

6630-500: The victors, while far more stone and ceramic works have come through the centuries, even if only in fragments. As recently as 2007 several life sized bronze sculptures by John Waddell were stolen, probably due to the value of the metal after the work has been melted. There are many different bronze alloys. Typically modern bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin . Alpha bronze consists of the alpha solid solution of tin in copper. Alpha bronze alloys of 4–5% tin are used to make coins and

6715-497: The weight low. Finally, plaster, clay or other material is used to form the full-size model, from which a mould may be constructed. Alternatively, a large refractory core may be constructed, and the direct-wax method then applied for subsequent investment. Before modern welding techniques, large sculptures were generally cast in one piece with a single pour. Welding allows a large sculpture to be cast in pieces, then joined. After final polishing, corrosive materials may be applied to form

6800-420: The works is the high level of metal working 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. Another important aspect of the works is their exclusivity: property was reserved only for certain social classes, reflecting the strict hierarchical structure of society in the Kingdom of Benin. In general, only

6885-431: Was artists from Ife who had taught Benin the techniques of bronze metalworking. Recognition of the antiquity of the technology in Benin advanced when these sculptures were dated definitively to that era. Few examples of African art had been collected by Europeans prior to the nineteenth century, though European printed books already included images of Benin City and of the oba's palace from the early 1600s onward. Only at

6970-429: Was hammered from ingots to make sheets. Bladed weapons were mostly cast from classic bronze, while helmets and armour were hammered from mild bronze. According to one definition, modern "statuary bronze" is 90% copper and 10% tin. The great civilizations of the old world worked in bronze for art, from the time of the introduction of the alloy for tools and edged weapons. Dancing Girl from Mohenjo-daro , belonging to

7055-454: Was made near smoke from homes, allowed the wooden sculptures to acquire a patina that resembles rusty metal. The figures depicted in the bronzes were cast in relief with details incised in the wax model. Artists working in bronze were organized into a type of guild under royal decree and lived in a special area of the palace under the direct control of the Oba. The works made using lost-wax casting required great specialisation. Their quality

7140-497: Was superior when the king was especially powerful, allowing him to employ a great number of specialists. Although the oldest examples of similar Benin metal work in bronze date from the twelfth century, according to tradition, the lost-wax casting technique was introduced to Benin by the son of the Oni, or sovereign of Ife . Their tradition holds that he taught the Benin metal workers the art of casting bronze using lost-wax techniques during

7225-705: Was up to 10,000 bronzes, ivories and other objects. Hicks notes that many of the looted Benin artefacts are in regional and university museums within the UK rather than the more well-known collections such as the British Museum , Royal Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum . Although the works generally are called the Benin Bronzes, they are made of different materials. Some are made of brass, which analysis has shown to be an alloy of copper, zinc and lead in various proportions. Others are non-metallic, made of wood, ceramic, ivory, leather or cloth. The wooden objects are made in

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