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Exhibits > In the Galleries > Africa
> Benin
Benin History and the Museum's Benin Collection
The art of Benin is the product of an urban royal court, symbolizing and extolling the power, mystique, grandeur, continuity, and endurance of the ruling dynasty and its governing institutions.
From at least the 11th century to date, the Oba, a divine ruler, ruled Benin and headed the political system of titled chiefs. Under royal support, a number of craftsmen's guilds produced brass, ivory, and wood sculptures and brocaded and appliquéd cloth that museums prize and that command high prices on the art market.
The tradition of the Oba as patron of the arts has continued. In 1914, Oba Eweka II lifted the restrictions on the sale of art work, and traditional craftsmen began to create for the public as well as for the court. Benin art has been resilient in the face of political, economic, social, and religious change. Traditional forms continue to be made today, and new forms are emerging to become part of contemporary Benin culture.
The Benin case in the African Gallery includes:
- IVORY ARMLET, BOX, WAND...
Ivory symbolized royalty and the continuity of dynastic rule. White is the color of ritual purity, so the Oba often wears ivory on ceremonial occasions. Such was the skill of ivory carvers that they worked the pieces without any preliminary sketches.
Cast in high relief, chiefs of all rank wear these small pendants to decorate the fastening of the typical Benin men's wrapper, which is secured on the left hip (as seen in the picture of Commemorative Plaque above). Leopard and human faces were common.
rested on altars and rang to attract the attention of the ancestors. Warriors in battle also wore them around the neck; the sound of these bells announced their victories upon returning home.
- BRASS AND IVORY ARMLETS AND BRACELETS
Royalty and nobility wore armlets and bracelets. Only the Oba wore ivory armlets, especially in ceremonies where he danced with the eben sword or handled a gong, because they kept his elaborate coral bead costume from getting tangled.
Benin History
For over six hundred years the city of Benin was the capital of a prosperous, well-organized empire of the same name. At its peak during the 15th and 16th centuries, the empire stretched from Dahomey to the Niger River and reached to the Atlantic coast in places. The Edo tell of Prince Oranmiyan, who was called from the city of Ife to restart the monarchy after his father Ododua's exile from Benin and wanderings to the west. Oranmiyan fathered Eweka I, who in the 12th century became the first Oba of the present dynasty. The present ruler, Erediauwa I, is the 38th Oba of the dynasty.
The palace in Benin was the height of a complex feudal
society characterized by widespread competition for power,
prestige and wealth. The arrival of the Portuguese around
1485 created a new era of prosperity and rapid expansion.
The Portuguese provided economic and militaristic strength
for the kingdom, acting as a conduit for overseas trade and
fighting in Benin military campaigns.
Conflicts stemming from colonial ambitions helped bring about the conquest of the kingdom in 1897, when an official British delegation was ambushed en route to see the Oba, despite his unwillingness to meet with it. In retaliation, the British sent the Oba into exile and burned the palace. In order to further weaken the Oba, and to deter additional bloodshed --the Oba had made sacrifices to the gods—the British, in keeping with the tradition of war booty, removed over two thousand objects from the palace. These objects—including the Oba's primary symbol of power, his coral-beaded wardrobe—were auctioned to defray the costs of the military expedition.
Today Benin City is the capital of Edo State and part of Nigeria's federal structure.
Benin Art and Beliefs
The sophistication and symbolism of Benin art illustrate the monarchy's ability to use the arts as instruments of the state. As the influence of the chiefs grew over the centuries, the office of the Oba became increasingly ceremonial. As a result, court ritual and art focused on what set the Oba apart from the chiefs: his ability to claim divine origins.
The divinity of the Benin monarchy is linked to Osanobua, the Creator God, and Olokun, his eldest son, who is associated intimately with the human world and with aspects of wealth, fertility, and beauty. His symbols are the python and the crocodile: animals that can live in water and on land, sent by Olokun to punish wrongdoing. The mudfish also inhabits the dual worlds of the riverbank and the shallow waters, and its powerful electric shock exemplified the potential violence of ancestors, warriors, and Obas. Symbols such as these helped reinforce the political legitimacy of the monarchy.
Benin royal art is primarily made of ivory and bronze. In the past, the Oba controlled the ivory trade, and any hunter who killed an elephant was obliged to give one of its tusks to the palace. In this way the rulers of Benin amassed huge stocks of ivory to be carved by the Igbesanmwan, the hereditary guild of ivory carvers, or sold to Europeans. Ivory's ritual importance stems from its white color, shared with orhue (chalk), considered the perfect symbol of purity, prosperity, and peace.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese, trade with northern neighbors supplied bronze. In the 15th century a great expansion in bronze-casting took place, reflecting the increased commercial importance of Benin. Bronze heads of Obas and Queen Mothers form the pinnacle of this artistic tradition.
While it is common to emphasize the continuity of art and culture in traditional societies, Benin's development was far from static. Contact with the neighboring Yoruba groups, the introduction of Christianity, and the formation of the nation of Nigeria impacted the arts. Although the kingdom of Benin’s independence ended in 1897, the Oba continues to commission art to inspire public loyalty and pride, as well as preserve historical memory during the changes of 21st century Nigeria.
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