Architecture of Unforgetting

A brief history here of Benin Empire with a focus on the arts and the Benin artefacts from a project put together by Black Brits in  partnership project with  museums in Greater Manchester: The empire of Benin and its cultural heritage by Kuljit 'Kooj' Chuhan The ancient kingdom of Benin began around AD900 although some sources suggest much earlier dates. From its base located in what is now Nigeria, it became a large empire and by around the fifteenth century some sources say that it stretched from Sierra Leone to as far as Congo. Its people were known as the Edo and they were ruled by an Oba (king). High quality arts Benin was, and still is, famous for its oral history traditions and for its highly skilled craftsmanship and arts, especially wood carving, weaving and brass casting. Brass casting reached a particularly high level of aesthetic and technical sophistication in the sixteenth century when decorative plaques and sculptures (now known as ‘The Benin bronzes’) were ma...

  MEANING, THEMES AND MESSAGES THE USE of THEMES to declare awareness of trials and travails. (more on this soon) IMAGE: 18th/19th century Helmet, Benin Empire The Benin Arts motif  of endless interlocking marks lace the lower part or base of the helmet. Spread along the vertical side towards the top is the recurring theme of ‘Bird of Prophecy’. Here the bird of prophesy is actively attacking a snake-like form also positioned at the top and which may or may not be an extension of the frontal ram-horse head that is, like the base of the helmet, decorated at the mouth with motifs of endless interlocking marks. The horse-like or ram headed frontal piece also carries decorative pair of horns. What trials are being pointed to here?  A later era piece, this helmet was attributed to Ife by the Brits or some indifferent curator. In terms of the British it was usual practice for them to mis-attribute Benin Arts to Ife as part of the propaganda to erase the Benin Kingdom...