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Very fascinating, SunkenCiv! Thanks for posting. A bit more background from SmartHistory...

Benin and the Portuguese
by The British Museum
Trade with the Portuguese probably encouraged the growth of brass casting in Benin at this time. Although West Africans invented the smelting of copper and zinc ores and the casting of brass at least as long ago as the 10th century, they did not produce enough metal to supply the casting industry of Benin city, which gave such splendor to the king’s palace. The Portuguese found a ready market for brass ingots, often made in the form of bracelets called “manillas.”
[Here is a "manilla" ingot. You can see why they were called "bracelets." Why do you suppose they didn't just cast ingots? It would have been cheaper and faster. It's amazing that they traced the source of the copper to the Rhineland.]
[Here's a map of the Kingdom of Benin]
These were made in the Low Countries (modern Holland) [POF NOTE: when the British Museum wrote this, they obviously didn't know the source of the brass], traded throughout West Africa as a kind of currency, and melted down by the brass workers of Benin. When the Portuguese arrived in Benin, Nigeria, in the 15th century, they quickly started trading brass and copper for pepper, cloth, ivory, and slaves. In the 1490s a Portuguese trader wrote that at Benin copper bracelets were more highly prized than brass ones.
The number of manillas in circulation increased dramatically from the 16th century when they became one of the standard trade currencies. Millions were made in Europe, along with brass and copper pots and pans, and imported into Africa for trade.

Brass figure of a Portuguese soldier holding a musket, 17th century C.E., Benin, Nigeria, brass, 43 x 20 x 18.5 cm © Trustees of the British Museum.

The Benin artisans did a great job on the costume and rifle details, but they sure never mastered anatomy.

It is amazing how fast trade expanded after western Europeans mastered navigation and sent explorers all over the world.