Royal Art of Benin

Royal Art of Benin PDF Author: Kate Ezra
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 0870996339
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Tantalizing trivia. this Hitler, spoiling everything?"

Royal Art of Benin

Royal Art of Benin PDF Author: Kate Ezra
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 0870996339
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Tantalizing trivia. this Hitler, spoiling everything?"

Benin

Benin PDF Author: Armand Duchâteau
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
"The ancient kingdom of Benin lies in the tropical rain forest of West Africa, in present-day Nigeria. During its classical age, from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century, it produced one of the continent's most glorious artistic legacies. To reflect the splendor of the royal court, the Oba (king) commissioned highly skilled artisans to create rare and beautiful works of cast brass and carved ivory. These included human and animal figures, relief plaques, elephant tusks, pendants, bracelets, life-size commemorative heads of Obas and queen mothers, and ceremonial objects to adorn the royal palace and the altars honoring Obas of the past. The exquisite brass heads were intended to function as objects celebrating ancestors, as war trophies, and as focal points for sacrificial ceremonies." "This volume presents a superb selection of artifacts from the Museum fur Volkerkunde in Vienna, home to one of the world's foremost collections of Benin art. Most of these artifacts were acquired at the end of the last century, when the influx of Benin objects into Europe after the destruction of Benin City caused a sensation among art experts and caught the interest of museum representatives and private collectors. Of the more than one hundred works reproduced here in full color, the majority have never been seen as a group in the U.S. Most celebrated are the cast brass sculptures - including the two figures of dwarfs - which have no parallel in sub-Saharan Africa." "A history of the kingdom of Benin up to the British punitive expedition of 1897 provides insight into the politics and culture of one of Africa's greatest civilizations. Further chapters discuss the court hierarchy, the art of brasscasting, the art of Benin and its symbolism, and the history of the Benin Collection in Vienna. To interpret the rich symbolism in Benin art, the book furnishes detailed analyses of the works that are reproduced. In his description of myths and ritual observances, the author presents a fascinating cosmology, in which animals were assigned magical and medicinal powers, and the Oba was seen as an intermediary between the earth and the world of spirits."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Royal Art of Benin

Royal Art of Benin PDF Author: Kate Ezra
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Benin

Benin PDF Author: Kathleen Bickford Berzock
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
In the late 15th century, the Kingdom of Benin (located in present-day southwestern Nigeria) established a mercantile relationship with Portugal, significantly increasing its wealth and might. Benin became a regional powerhouse and, under a long lineage of divine rulers, or obas, it wielded great economic and political influence. The obas also supported guilds of artists--chief among them brass casters and ivory carvers--whom they employed to produce objects that honored royal ancestors, recorded history, and glorified life at court. The sophisticated creations of Benin’s royal artists stand among the greatest works of African art. This stunning book features a selection of Benin’s extraordinary artworks that range from finely cast bronze figures, altar heads, and wall plaques to ivory tusks, pendants, and arm cuffs embellished in detailed bas relief. An insightful essay outlines the kingdom’s history and sheds light on these masterworks by describing their production and function in the context of the royal court.

The Royal Art of Benin

The Royal Art of Benin PDF Author: Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780870997020
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages :

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The Art of Benin

The Art of Benin PDF Author: Philip John Crosskey Dark
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art, Beninese
Languages : en
Pages : 74

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Benin Kings and Rituals

Benin Kings and Rituals PDF Author: Barbara Plankensteiner
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789053496268
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Edited by Barbara Plakensteiner. Foreword by O.J. Eboreime.

Loot

Loot PDF Author: Barnaby Phillips
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1786079364
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 527

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Book Description
A Prospect Best Book of 2021 ‘A fascinating and timely book.’ William Boyd ‘Gripping…a must read.’ FT ‘Compelling…humane, reasonable, and ultimately optimistic.’ Evening Standard ‘[A] valuable guide to a complex narrative.’ The Times In 1897, Britain sent a punitive expedition to the Kingdom of Benin, in what is today Nigeria, in retaliation for the killing of seven British officials and traders. British soldiers and sailors captured Benin, exiled its king and annexed the territory. They also made off with some of Africa’s greatest works of art. The ‘Benin Bronzes’ are now amongst the most admired and valuable artworks in the world. But seeing them in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like ‘visiting relatives behind bars’. In a time of huge controversy about the legacy of empire, racial justice and the future of museums, what does the future hold for the Bronzes?

The Brutish Museums

The Brutish Museums PDF Author: Dan Hicks
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781786806840
Category : Bronzes
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Walk into any European museum today and you will see the curated spoils of Empire. They sit behind plate glass: dignified, tastefully lit. Accompanying pieces of card offer a name, date and place of origin. They do not mention that the objects are all stolen. Few artefacts embody this history of rapacious and extractive colonialism better than the Benin Bronzes - a collection of thousands of metal plaques and sculptures depicting the history of the Royal Court of the Obas of Benin City, Nigeria. Pillaged during a British naval attack in 1897, the loot was passed on to Queen Victoria, the British Museum and countless private collections. 0The story of the Benin Bronzes sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation and the decolonisation of museums. In The Brutish Museum, Dan Hicks makes a powerful case for the urgent return of such objects, as part of awider project of addressing the outstanding debt of colonialism.

The Benin Plaques

The Benin Plaques PDF Author: Kathryn Wysocki Gunsch
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429679467
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
The 16th century bronze plaques from the kingdom of Benin are among the most recognized masterpieces of African art, and yet many details of their commission and installation in the palace in Benin City, Nigeria, are little understood. The Benin Plaques, A 16th Century Imperial Monument is a detailed analysis of a corpus of nearly 850 bronze plaques that were installed in the court of the Benin kingdom at the moment of its greatest political power and geographic reach. By examining European accounts, Benin oral histories, and the physical evidence of the extant plaques, Gunsch is the first to propose an installation pattern for the series.