Location
Kingdom of Benin is located in present day South West Nigeria. In its hay days, its influence spread right across the West African coast. It is not to be confused with the former Republic of Dahomey now known as Benin as on the map.
A Brief History
The kingdom of Benin was established in 40BC and was at its height and glory between the 14th and the 16th centuries.
We can get an idea of the kingdom’s grandeur and accomplishments from the bronze plaques commissioned by the kings (Obas) to commemorate and record achievements during their reign.
The kingdom began to decline with the advent of the European traders and missionaries who used various means to impose their own ideologies and intents on the whole continent as a whole. European traders were after profits and Christian missionaries after conversion of ‘pagans’. This situation was not helped by the various internal squabbles and infighting by the nobility and engagements in many wars which weakened Benin.
This ivory salt cellar show triumph of Christianity over pagan practice on the West African coast: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/
aoa/i/ivory_salt_cellar.aspx
Why Kingdom of Benin should be given prominence in world history:
It is the only African kingdom to have recorded its history for posterity through this unique art form.
These metal bronze plaques tell a full and varied history of the West African people over hundreds of years and which can be verified today through their current practices.
Recording their history this way in imported metal must have been very costly for the Benin kings, yet they chose to accomplish this in order to ensure their place in history.
The bronze plaques were so intricately created that individuals and occasions can be accurately identified today.
Some of the Benin Bronzes used as a means to record achievements and history of the kingdom can be dated back to the 15th and 16th centuries, the same period as the European early renaissance period.
The high points of the plaques correspond to the high points of renaissance period in Europe (end of 15th century to early 16th century); though the history of the bronzes go back long before then, terracotta figures were used to accomplish the same task before the Portuguese traders introduced bronze metal to the kings.
The Benin Bronzes as metal works do not require much restoration to preserve them; not to the extent required by great works of art such as paintings by Raphael (Raphael’s Rooms: 1508- 1520) and Michael Angelou (1475 – 1564 e.g. Sistine Chapel Works) commissioned by the Pope to record the church’s history need to be.
The Benin bronzes preserve African history for posterity just as Greek and Roman buildings and art do for Europe. They provide tangible evidence to support the: when, what, where, who and how of oral historical narratives for West Africa. Read this:
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/u/0/asset-viewer/brass-figure-of-a-portuguese-soldier/DAHqpoa6_JnAgA
The Kingdom of Benin was the first sovereign nation to ban the Atlantic slave exports. Find out more here ---> .
A depiction of Oba Esigie (1504 - 1550) receiving Portuguese traders.
Kingdom of Benin is located in present day South West Nigeria. In its hay days, its influence spread right across the West African coast. It is not to be confused with the former Republic of Dahomey now known as Benin as on the map.
A Brief History
The kingdom of Benin was established in 40BC and was at its height and glory between the 14th and the 16th centuries.
We can get an idea of the kingdom’s grandeur and accomplishments from the bronze plaques commissioned by the kings (Obas) to commemorate and record achievements during their reign.
The kingdom began to decline with the advent of the European traders and missionaries who used various means to impose their own ideologies and intents on the whole continent as a whole. European traders were after profits and Christian missionaries after conversion of ‘pagans’. This situation was not helped by the various internal squabbles and infighting by the nobility and engagements in many wars which weakened Benin.
This ivory salt cellar show triumph of Christianity over pagan practice on the West African coast: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/
aoa/i/ivory_salt_cellar.aspx
Why Kingdom of Benin should be given prominence in world history:
It is the only African kingdom to have recorded its history for posterity through this unique art form.
These metal bronze plaques tell a full and varied history of the West African people over hundreds of years and which can be verified today through their current practices.
Recording their history this way in imported metal must have been very costly for the Benin kings, yet they chose to accomplish this in order to ensure their place in history.
The bronze plaques were so intricately created that individuals and occasions can be accurately identified today.
Some of the Benin Bronzes used as a means to record achievements and history of the kingdom can be dated back to the 15th and 16th centuries, the same period as the European early renaissance period.
The high points of the plaques correspond to the high points of renaissance period in Europe (end of 15th century to early 16th century); though the history of the bronzes go back long before then, terracotta figures were used to accomplish the same task before the Portuguese traders introduced bronze metal to the kings.
The Benin Bronzes as metal works do not require much restoration to preserve them; not to the extent required by great works of art such as paintings by Raphael (Raphael’s Rooms: 1508- 1520) and Michael Angelou (1475 – 1564 e.g. Sistine Chapel Works) commissioned by the Pope to record the church’s history need to be.
The Benin bronzes preserve African history for posterity just as Greek and Roman buildings and art do for Europe. They provide tangible evidence to support the: when, what, where, who and how of oral historical narratives for West Africa. Read this:
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/u/0/asset-viewer/brass-figure-of-a-portuguese-soldier/DAHqpoa6_JnAgA
The Kingdom of Benin was the first sovereign nation to ban the Atlantic slave exports. Find out more here ---> .
A depiction of Oba Esigie (1504 - 1550) receiving Portuguese traders.