Benin: Royal Arts of a West African Kingdom

by Kathleen Bickford Berzock

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 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.

36 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2008

Reviews

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to a preview of Benin art at the British Museum on Sunday, so I'll read up on it. I saw African art in Bremen Anthropology Museum ages ago and it blew me away. All those totems and masks hanging high in the air like some eruption of the subconscious, symbols for things behind all of our scenes not just tribal Africans. In many ways I think primitive art surpasses Western art, and that stuff in Bremen certainly spoke to me in a raw way that Renaissance artists don't touch. I can appreciate the skill of a Caravaggio or Leonardo, but there's nothing like an African totem mask to knock you out before you have time to think about it. Reminds me of Heart of Darkness - 'This too has been one of the dark places of the earth' or something like that. The primitive in all of us, that rarely gets spoken to.