The Art of Benin Essay

Historic treasures and artifacts are often donated to or purchased by other nations to place in their museums. Often museums are given the objects with full cooperation from the originating country, but sometimes they are stolen or given for protection such as in a time of war. When nations want the artifacts returned it can cause a disagreement with the other nations of who the rightful owner is.

Many people visit museums to view antiquities. They enjoy seeing these relics of the ancient world as a way of understanding past cultures and sometimes connecting with their own heritage. This evidence was found in the passage, “Returning Antiquities to Their Countries of Origin” by Joyce Mortimer paragraph 1. Cultural artifacts should not be returned to their region of origin because some people don’t have enough money to travel to China or Brazil to go look at ancient artifacts from the past. So they should bring these ancient trinkets to places like America and Canada so people around the world can study different cultures to learn more about the life around use.

In Basil Davidson’s video “Different but Equal,” he outlines the European perception of Africa upon their discovery of the continent. Claims that the Europeans were making about African culture, however, were far fetched and did not depict Africa in a positive manner. History according to pre-European Africa was rich and diverse, but once Europeans saw for themselves how different their continent was from Africa, they began to make up their own version of African history.

From the 1500s to the 1700s, African blacks, mainly from the area of West Africa (today's Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Dahomey, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon) were shipped as slaves to North America, Brazil, and the West Indies. For them, local and tribal differences, and even varying cultural backgrounds, soon melded into one common concern for the suffering they all endured. Music, songs, and dances as well as remembered traditional food, helped not only to uplift them but also quite unintentionally added immeasurably to the culture around them. In the approximately 300 years that blacks have made their homes in North America, the West Indies, and Brazil, their highly honed art

The Nok heads and sculptures of Nigeria are made hallow, life-sized terra-cotta figures with a coiling technique commonly used to make pottery vessels (Thames & Hudson, 2015, pg.451). Nok heads were made with clay and although clay is very durable it is also breakable. However, very few sculpture have been found undamaged. The head of the figures was larger than the bodies because the artists wanted to emphasize the association between the head with knowledge and identity. The Nok head below is from Rafin Kura, sculpted in c. 500 BCE-200 CE. Like many Nok heads, this sculpture has a unique hairstyle, with three buns on top. It also has triangular- shaped eyes with holes in the pupils, nostrils, mouth, and

In chapter 19 memories and experiences play a role in transitioning from one place to another. Chapter 19 starts off with Ishmael transitioning from Benin Home to live with his uncle Tommy and his family. This transition would seem effortless and simple to the naked eye because Beah is now connected with a part of his family. However for Ishmael it was more difficult than it would appear. On page 182 Ishmael describes his first night, “I sighed sitting alone on the verandah. I was no longer nervous, but I missed Benin Home.” (Ishmael Beah 182). 1. How do Ishmael’s memories and experiences hold him back from now being happy in his new home and life? Ishmael has a tough time with his new life because there is so much the others don’t know about

In museums today various pieces are displayed in such a way as to show people that these pieces are what they are and to explain their original uses etc. In Paris for example, a new museum was built in 2006 called Quai Branly and it displayed a collection of Benin pieces including

One of the curators involved claimed that the intention of the exhibition was to “acknowledge Canada’s colonial past by examining these cultural artefacts and the processes by which they had been collected. Also to show off that White Canada had a somewhat less than perfect understanding of the richness of complex African societies.” Yet, regardless of the intent, the execution of the exhibit failed, miserably. The ROM began to face what is to this day, one of the greatest controversies they’ve had to face.

Regardless of their race, people need to know where they came from and why. Historically, we know that at least 450 years ago, or more, Africans were captured in their home and forcibly brought to the Americas on slave ships to work for landowners. Unfortunately, the Africans brought to the colonies were seen as inferior to the European settlers. Because of this feeling of superiority, the Africans were thought to be the property of the settlers and as such a vast majority were treated harshly. At that point in history, the Africans had lost their identity, and now that hundreds of years had passed the African-Americans have regained their identity. What constitutes the National Museum of African-American History and Culture as special

Artwork is a unique commodity. It is easily identifiable, and thus, subsequent purchasers may initially succeed in concealing stolen artwork for some time. Eventually, the artwork is likely to resurface. This resurfacing often gives rise to claims to the work and disputes over its ownership. Sentiment is often the driving force behind Jewish survivors and families of

The Baule people do not see art as Westerners view art; instead art is very entangled within their whole well being. The art is not viewed often with their eyes, but instead it is viewed with their souls. There is passion, love, anger, hurt and joy displayed within their statues, figures, masks, household objects and spirit spouses. To the Baule, their artwork answers the lingering questions: where do humans come from, why is one person healthy and yet another one died, and where do their souls go after one dies? Art is not simply something the Baule hang on the wall to decorate a house. Instead, art is how the Baule maintained their cultural integrity and identity. There is an intimate relationship between the Baule and art - almost as if they are one in the same, and for many this is a concept difficult to understand. Westerners want to identify art with a date, a creator, and a reason, but to the Baule art is just a part of who they are. The word art doesn't even have meaning in the Baule language, instead art is represented in the villages, customs, dreams, minds, and imaginations of the Baule

Ancient art is pivotal to understanding the societies they came from. The subject, the methods used, and even the materials are all indicative of the culture and environment in which the art was produced. The Stela of Iku and Mer-imat and a marble statue of Venus exemplify this very idea. Both works act as windows to the mindset of the different cultures that contributed to their establishment.

This sculpture is of a women breast feeding her child. The face of the two people is elongated, as well as the breasts of the mother. This is common to all African Art because they wanted representation of what is being expressed. In this particular sculpture, a supernatural power is being called upon. The power has been asked to protect the mother and child, and to

Once a country obtains an item legally, they have the right to do whatever they want with it, including destroy it. The middle east is not a safe place for history (let alone people) right now. So, why would we send these artifacts back where they 're not safe?

     Like African paintings, poetry, and woodcarvings, sculptures tell a tale and immortalize cultures and beliefs. Different artists have different styles (African Arts Information). Materials and styles differ from village to village. Most sculptors use green wood, copper, tin, zinc alloys, bronze, ivory, or terra cotta, a kind of earth ware. Most sculpture figures are believed to contain ancestor’s spirits. Others represent sacred ideas or events (Fetzer 106). Some objects are said to be magical and believed to have magical powers (African Arts). Africans carve figures, make masks, and decorate articles for ceremonies (Fetzer 106).