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Posted on 04/10/2023 9:04:40 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The Benin Bronzes Consist of Thousands of Metal Sculptures and Plaques Which Adorned the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Benin, Presently Located in Edo State, Nigeria...
Although the collection is commonly referred to as the Benin Bronzes, the pieces are predominantly crafted from brass of varying compositions using the lost-wax casting method, a process by which a duplicate sculpture is cast from an original sculpture.
Edo artisans used manillas, meaning bracelet, as a metal source for making the Benin Bronzes. Manillas were also used as decorative objects and currency across parts of Western Africa.
In a new study published in the journal, PLOS ONE, researchers have conducted an ICP-MS geochemical analysis of 67 manillas, which were recovered from 16th and 19th century shipwrecks found in African, American, and European waters.
According to the study: "Comparing trace elements and lead isotope ratios of manillas and Benin Bronzes, the study identifies Germany as the principal source of the manillas used in the West African trade between the 15th and 18th centuries before British industries took over the brass trade in the late 18th century."
Historical sources indicate that thousands of manillas were shipped from Europe to West Africa with the opening of the Portuguese trade in the late 15th century. This suggested that Portugal was the principal source of metal, however, the study has now revealed that Germany, in particular, the Rhineland, was the main source for West African casters between the 15th and the 18th centuries.
The authors of the study said: "The work presented affords new insights into the early Atlantic trade, African consumption and production of European metal goods, and the chronology of both European and African castings."
(Excerpt) Read more at heritagedaily.com ...
Shouldn't they be called the "Benin Brasses"?................
Benin Brasses sounds like a band from the 1960s.
Is it me? Or do those look like Beavis and Butthead?
Herb Nkomo and the Benin Brass.....................
Benin and the PortugueseThe Benin artisans did a great job on the costume and rifle details, but they sure never mastered anatomy.
by The British MuseumTrade 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.
It is amazing how fast trade expanded after western Europeans mastered navigation and sent explorers all over the world.
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