Benin, Kingdom of

Tangible Heritage Conservation: Three years of success towards changing the context of African conservation

“…This period of expansion and cultural, social and political development is especially depicted on the 'low-relief plaques that apparently once adorned the palace walls' (Ben-Amos 2003). This brings the discussion to the third creation attributed to Oba Ewuare, the artistic organisation.…”

“…. [and] lintels and rafters of the council chambers and residential areas were lined with sheets of brass covered with geometric repoussé designs' (Ben-Amos 2003, Blier 1998. Cyril Punch, a British trader and traveller to Benin in 1889, described what he saw at the palace of the oba: 'mostly statuettes and plaques in deep relief, portraying scenes in the history of Benin and commemorative tablets of dead kings' (Ben-Amos 2003).…”

“…The arts, especially, flourished and were used to depict the recovery of the royal house and its divine connection and dependence on spiritual powers of validity. Ben-Amos (2003) describes various examples, such as elaborately carved ivory tusks set on brass memorial heads on the royal ancestral altars and altarpieces; a rectangular tableau depicting the king in his most elaborate attire at the main divine kingship rituals, a clear reflection of the concerns of the time. A number of singular objects were also created: a magnificent cast-brass stool decorated with motifs signifying mystical power and alluding to the great 16th-century king, Esigie; a series of brass masks (examples, London, BM) used in a ceremony honouring Ododua, the founder of the royal dynasty; a sceptre (New York, Met.)…”

“…7 For example, the leopard was the king of the jungle, and in order to show the oba's strength and divinity, he is the only figure depicted overpowering a leopard(Layton 1991: 78). 8 Interestingly, according toBen-Amos (2003), the phrase '"to cast a plaque" can be used metaphorically for the creation and establishment of a tradition and monument. '…”