Views of Benin Ancient Artifacts in Europe - Essay Example

Views of Benin Ancient Artifacts in Europe By The interaction between European culture and the Africans resulted in the discovery of African art to the outside world. One such encounter is between the people of Benin and the British who have presented the former’s forms of art in museums since the year 1897 to date. And as the Benin plaques changed, so were the views of their culture presented in the European museums. Through the help of British forces, Benin artworks were looted to Europe where they were sold to various museums around the world. From 1880s to early 1900s, there was increased interest in African colonies. This was also accompanied by increased interest in African people and their cultures. Africans were therefore described as savages and as people who openly practiced witchcraft. For instance, ‘The Golgotha, Benin’ is a portrait produce in the London News paper that describe Benin as a cannibalistic place with brutal practices. Prior to the emergence of the British, they were backward and less civilized. However, things changed once the British brought sanity to the place. The Benin great arts like the bronze sculptures brought forth a debate on the notion of inferiority of the African race. Experts formulated theories and explanations to downplay their doubters. For instance, Justus Brinekmann argued that the beautiful sculptures were as a result of interaction between Benin and ancient civilizations like the Egyptians or the Portuguese (pg.52). Henry Ling Roth who once insinuated that the bronze artifacts had European influence retracted his statements and conceded that the artifacts predated back before the Portuguese arrival. Failure to prove African inferiority, experts in British museums had to come up with reasonable explanations in order to maintain scientific superiority over other Europeans nations especially Germany. Ethnographic experts argued that indeed the artifacts were African; however, they dated them to coincide with the arrival of the Portuguese into their land. The evidence they brought forth was the absence of skilled artisans at the time. Therefore, after the Portuguese had gone, Africans re-evolved back to savages and degenerates. The concept of African inferiority art was further instilled into the global art form by the avant-garde artisans who were very popular in the early 1900s. They affirmed what the Europeans believed/or thought to be true of a simple and timeless art, that was free from ‘civilizing decorum’ (pg. 63). Ironically, these avant-garde artisans derived their inspirations from the same art forms they were busy degrading and they were highly awarded and regarded for that. For instance, in1907 Picasso stumbled upon four African masks including Etoumbi. These masks inspired him to model Les Demoiselles, one of his finest works. The four masks were described as primitive earless heads with sharp chins, small oval mouths and flat-ridge noses (pg. 66). However, this was proven to be untrue. William Rubin postulated that the masks were unveiled in 1926 and therefore Picasso’s assertion that he saw them in 1907 was false. This can be argued that Picasso and other artistes at the time tried to save face from the fact that, their brilliance stemmed from a people they deemed inferior. To prove their point, these artisans rebranded Benin bronze carvings by having sophisticated replica drawings with added touches in terms of color and shapes. (pg. 68) However, as the years progressed more scholars began viewing the Benin arts as exceptional with many scholars comparing them to Italian Renaissance artistry (pg. 67). It is worth noting that the Benin arts were downplayed by the imperialists together with artists and professionals in the field in order to justify European forceful occupation and colonization of African land. Many writers, who can be assumed to have been under the payroll of the imperialists, claimed that the ‘inferior bronze relics’ had no cultural significance and impact in their society (pg. 68). It is worth noting again that the only other civilizations that had the skill to make bronze sculptures were the ancient Chinese and Egyptians. In Europe, sculptures were curved from stone or wood and then cast in bronze or other precious metals. European artisans did not entirely make a carving from bronze for that matter. It is therefore hypothetically incorrect for Europe to dub Benin bronze art inferior when they were incapable of producing full bronze sculptures that ancient people of China, Egypt and Benin easily did. The notion of inferiority is also laughable when we factor in the fact that the avant-garde artisans, the most revered group of artists at the time, were awed by the ‘inferior’ art and spent their entire lifetimes making replicas of the same or getting inspiration from them (pg.70). Benin Arts in Modern Museums Traditionally, museums had no special way of keeping artifacts. There was no form of order and unrelated articles could be piled together, sometimes on top of each other without much care. However, modern museums are more orderly. Unlike their predecessors where works of art were piled on to each other from the floor to the ceiling, modern museums are organized with related artifacts kept separately from other articles (pg. 72). Furthermore, the delicate or precious artifacts are safely concealed in transparent casings with labels either at the top or at the bottom of the pieces. These labels- which are self explanatory were formulated to bring a postulated meaning of the objects, even though they may not be correct (pg. 73). These labels are entirely creations of experts who translate the artifacts through the lens of art and not on the context in which they were produced. It is also worth pointing out that there were no Africans who gave clear analysis of these arts and therefore the labels are nothing but fictions. A good example of this case can be seen at the display of Benin bronze artifacts at Horniman Museum. The artifacts are enclosed in a transparent casing. Below them is postulated name of each one of them. The names are then followed by artistic analysis of their creation (pg. 75). Another good example is how bronze plaques are displayed at the British Museums. The Sainsbury African Galleries is dotted with numerous bronze plaques that are suspended several meters high by a metallic rod that they have been attached to. Therefore, many rods with beautiful plaques create sundry environment for art lovers to marvel at the spectacle of the Benin ancient history (pg. 74). To add more highlight to these antiques, they are spot lit to bring about different creative backgrounds to them. Analysis of Article 2.7 In order to advance historical knowledge about the ancient customs and practices about the Benin people, photographs of bronze plaques and other pieces were displayed in the African Worlds gallery for interpretation. Discussions and interviews were held houses of priests and chiefs about the present customs and the absence of ancient rituals. This resulted to iconographic interpretation of seven plaques that are in possession of Horniman Museum. (pg. 85) Standing in a transparent casing is an ancient human model named in an African language as Ezomo Agban. It is bare-chested and on its waist, a special belt with a metallic buckle that holds a loin-cloth that extends to its knees. On its head is a pyramidal helmet that has no visible decorations or ornaments. However, the helmet has special attire that extends from it and covers both its ears. On its neck is a necklace made of canine teeth with a bell-like symbol hanging on it; symbolizing the safe return of a warrior. On its body is body armor presumably made of fine metal at the time that would work as protective gear during war. The body armor is decorated with an image of leopard’s head. The statue is also holding a tool or weapon. The model is not adorned with a lot of leopard decorations, which can only mean that Ezomo is a warrior. Judging by its posture, the statue can be assumed that it is partaking on a victory dance referred to as Isi’ Okuo, probably after defeating an enemy. (pg. 85) Conclusion It is evident that ancient people of Benin were among the most skillful people in bronze art. Though it took many years for the Europeans to acknowledge this fact, the truth of the matter is that their opposition was only fueled by imperialistic agendas. They were looking for excuses to colonize Africa and establish themselves as the dominant race. Reasons that prove that the bronze pieces of art were exceptionally good include: European travelers in Africans were amazed by them, they decided to loot them, they were compared to Italian Reconnaissance, they were opposed severely and lies were propagated to prove that Africans did not create them, they influenced geniuses in the field of art like Picasso and they were being fought for by major European libraries. Read More