To help understand what this text tells us of cross-cultural encounters we need to see the context in which it was written. We need to examine the source and to whom and why it was produced. We need to see how the discovery of such sophisticated artwork sat alongside the Victorian attitudes to Africa, their view on race and their interpretation of ‘civilisation’. If we also explore how they judged these objects at the time we can reflect how they continue to be re-interpreted and evolve.
There were intense rivalries between the European museums of the time following the discoveries at Benin. Read and Dalton were, “keen to promote the ethnography within the British Museum…to cast the British as the civilised keeper of the world’s history,” (Loftus, 2008, p53).
Read and Dalton struggled to explain the origin of the plaques discovered in the king’s compound in 1897. There is a certain finality in the suggestion that the haphazard way they were found after the invasion would forever, “destroy any hope that a clue to their origin or use might be found in Benin itself” (Read and Dalton, 1898 in Loftus and Wood, 2008, p84). Their puzzlement to, “account for so highly developed an art among a race so entirely barbarous” (Read and Dalton, 1898 in Loftus and Wood, p84) not only re-affirms stereotypical Victorian views of ‘primitive’ Africa but also emphasises the shortage of non-British evidence. Although Read and Dalton would later use Bini oral accounts it is useful to note that the primary sources available in 1897 were those of government documents, a survivor of the ambush, an officer in the invasion force, a doctor and the media, all British (Mackie, 2008, p18). History, very much, being written by the winners.
The Victorians, and later the Edwardians, were slow to establish the Art of Benin as indigenous to the region or self-inspired. Their explanation for its production was, “that the native was raised for the moment above his normal level by direct foreign inspiration,” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910-11 in Loftus and Wood, 2008, p82), a direct reference to the Portuguese influence over the area.
By the conquest of Benin City in 1897 the British hoped to be, “opening access to both trade and Christianity,” (Mackie, 2008, p27), seeing African society as, “changeless or regressing,” (Mackie, 2008, p27) and they as the saviour through this two-pronged approach.
Though they describe the pieces as, “remarkable works of art”,(Read and Dalton, 1898, in Loftus and Wood, 2008, p84), it didn’t stop the wholesale shipment of the items as ‘war booty’ back to Europe where they were separated and sold.
Originally displayed in large glass cases, the pieces were grouped together by functionality in an anthropological setting, (Illustration Book 3, plate 3.2.22).
The Benin artwork took many years, many displays and the discovery of local sources, to be regarded and re-interpreted as sophisticated, independent pieces of African art, (Illustration Book, 2008, plate 3.2.25), that can give us an appreciation of the technical skills of the artists allied to an insight into the culture and practices of this once-mysterious, misunderstood society.
Word Count: 516
Bibliography
Entry on ‘Negro’ in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edn. (1910-11). Written by T.A.Joyce, Assistant in the Department of Ethnography, British Museum, and Secretary of the Anthropology Society.
Loftus, D. & Wood, P. (2008), The Art of Benin: Changing Relations Between Europe and Africa II, Brown RD (ed), Cultural Encounters (AA100, Book 3), Milton Keynes, Open University.
Read, C.H. and Dalton, O.M. (1898) ‘Works of art from Benin City, Journal of the Anthropological Institute, vol.27, pp. 362-82.
The Open University (2008), AA100 Illustration Book (Plates for Books 3 and 4), Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Woods, K. & Mackie, R. (2008), The Art of Benin: Changing Relations Between Europe and Africa I, Brown RD (ed), Cultural Encounters (AA100, Book 3), Milton Keynes, Open University.
Stephen Kerr – B865886X 5th July2012
Assignment 05. Part 2.
How strong are the arguments for keeping the Benin ‘bronzes’ in the West?
To evaluate the strength of the arguments for keeping the Benin ‘bronzes’ in the West we must first establish how Benin’s interaction with Europe led to their eventual forced removal. We then must consider the arguments for keeping the ‘bronzes’ in the West and encounter polar opinion to such thoughts. We will establish the difficulties that have been overcome in categorising such pieces and the part they have played in the development of 20th century Western art. From this we should be able to formulate an academic opinion based on this evidence.
Benin had traded with Europe since the late 15th century, following contact with Portuguese merchants operating along their coast. It was this mutually beneficial trade relationship with Portugal that first led to the West’s discovery of the Benin brass artwork, known as ‘bronzes’. In exchange for the raw materials they needed to produce these ‘bronzes’, in the form of brass manillas, Benin would trade intricately carved ivory pieces that were sold in the Portuguese market, (Illustration Book3 Plate 3.1.5.). The ‘bronzes’, during this time, were seen as royal art and not for trade. Though not a modern day trading relationship of equals it was, “certainly characterised by a notable absence of hostility” (Woods, 2008, p16).
This all changed following the sacking of Benin City by the British in 1897. This saw the wholesale removal of ‘bronze’ statues, plaques and ivories from the royal compound, (Illustration Book3 Plate 3.1.14). These items were sold to museums throughout Europe to finance the mission, with institutions in Europe and the United States clamouring for the best pieces. That they remain there to this day is a matter of huge controversy and debate.
The British museum’s mission statement is that it is a museum for the world. It is argued that to return the bronzes to Nigeria would leave a, “yawning gap” (Chris Spring, speaking on The Art of Benin, track2) in the museums representation of world culture. It is countered that to display them in their original place of manufacture would give us, “a better understanding of their function and their aesthetics” (Kevin Dalton-Johnson, speaking on the Art of Benin, track 2).
Ownership of the sculptures also raises much controversy. It can be seen that institutions such as the British Museum see the Benin ‘bronzes’, “like any great work of art, they belong to humankind” (Chris Spring, Art of Benin, track3). This fits in with their ‘museum for the world’ ethos. It is argued that the forcible removal of the ‘bronzes’ was comparable to the forcible removal of many Africans from their homeland during the slave trade and, “there are many kinds of parallels between the Benin bronze displacement and the displacement that is experienced by African diasporics like myself (Kevin Dalton-Johnson, Art of Benin, track3).
It is said that by returning the ‘bronzes’ to Nigeria, “we would lose the potential of talking about everything that they can tell us in our society” (Chris Spring, Art of Benin, track4). It is further argued that they rail against the extreme negative and positive images that we in the West receive of Africa such as, “death, destruction, famine, AIDS, or some sort of idealised idea of Africa, elephants across the Serengeti…” (Chris Spring, Art of Benin, track4).
It is agreed that the way in which the artwork was taken from Benin and given to the museum is a stance, “we would never possibly and couldn’t possibly defend today, “(Chris Spring, Art of Benin, track4). It is the very way in which they were taken that the museum hopes there can be, “a huge amount that this work can teach people to lift that ignorance” (Chris Spring, Art of Benin, track4). As if the sophistication and intricacy of the artwork could go someway toward dispelling the view of ‘primitive’ African art that some people still hold. Others argue that it is simply a continuation of another form of colonialism when the Benin artwork is refused repatriation because the West knows best in the way that the items are categorised and displayed, “…almost justifies their removal…the implication that black people are not capable of looking after things themselves” (Kevin Dalton-Johnson, Art of Benin, track4).
An awful lot has changed since the Benin ‘bronzes’ came to the West in 1897, not least our understanding of the artwork, its categorisation, its functionality and its influence on others. Gone is the Europeans, “profound belief…in his own racial superiority” (Blyden, 1903, in Loftus and Wood, 2008, p82) and in its place a belief that, “looking at the art of Benin properly becomes a gateway to African history” (Wood, 2008, p76).
It could be argued that had these pieces remained in the kings compound in Benin and had never travelled to the West in 1897 then the rest of the world would never have learned of their existence nor the ideas and information they have undoubtedly given us regarding the sophistication of African culture. From the grouping in anthropological, utilitarian classifications of the late 19th century, (Illustration Book 3, plate 3.2.22) through to the modern representations of both functionality and beauty (Illustration Book 3, plate 3.2.24) of today, we have seen that the West has finally appreciated these working pieces of art for the purpose that was originally intended.
To argue on a purely cultural level regarding the retention of the Benin ‘bronzes’ by the West it seems that they are serving a really useful purpose in the Western museums. The British Museum and its Western counterparts are huge seats of learning in the 21st century. With the advent of global travel and the ease of use of the Internet there really is no reason that the world cannot finally share in what they hold for it in perpetuity. If their purpose is to educate and inform on African culture then one could argue that they are best placed in Europe to reach a wider audience, an audience, incidentally who are the descendants of the colonialists. The idea of, “ Reparation Through Education” (Chris Spring, Art of Benin, track5) would seem an appropriate use of the objects when considering the journey they have undertaken.
Word Count: 1,023
Bibliography
Edward.W.Blyden (1903) ‘West Africa before Europe’, Journal of the Royal African Society, vol.2, no. 8, pp359-74 (extracts from pp.363, 365, 368-9)
Loftus, D. & Wood, P. (2008), The Art of Benin: Changing Relations Between Europe and Africa II, Brown RD (ed), Cultural Encounters (AA100, Book 3), Milton Keynes, Open University.
‘The Art of Benin, Return of the Bronzes’ Chris Spring, (2008), (AA100 DVD ROM), Milton Keynes, The Open University
‘The Art of Benin, Return of the Bronzes’, Kevin Dalton-Johnson, (2008), (AA100 DVD ROM), Milton Keynes, The Open University
The Open University (2008), AA100 Illustration Book (Plates for Books 3 and 4), Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Woods, K. & Mackie, R. (2008), The Art of Benin: Changing Relations Between Europe and Africa I, Brown RD (ed), Cultural Encounters (AA100, Book 3), Milton Keynes, Open University.
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