Benin Plaques

 

One of the main stereotypes you’re probably familiar with when discussing ancient Africa, is that they always lived in small villages of grass or mud huts. There is substantial evidence to show that Africans attained a high level of cultural complexity and civilization. For example, the great city of Zimbabwe has very large walls of carefully shaped granite blocks placed together without the use of any mortar. For them it was not a wall for defense, but rather for signifying the power of the kings who lived there. In other parts of Africa, yes architecture is often made of mud, which disintegrates if not periodically repaired. Objects of carved stone, fired clay, and cast metals do not disintegrate so easily, and when carefully recovered from archaeological sites, provide some of our best evidence for the sophistication of ancient African kingdoms.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.khanacademy.org%2Fhumanities%2Fart-africa%2Fwest-africa%2Fnigeria%2Fa%2Fbenin-plaques&psig=AOvVaw11ceukD53vWu1D4pgxfNYa&ust=1604613237294000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPDPuaPw6ewCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Pictured above you will see a Benin plaque, the Relief plaque with an oba dominating leopards to be exact. Oba means king, and we can see the figure is dressed regalia and holds symbols of his power. We recognize the his is a king because of there crown we can see on his head, which at the time would have been made with coral beads with a tall basket projection called an oro projection which is a symbol for leadership. Most importantly we see he is wearing the bead of rule on his chest, which is a lovely deep orange/ red. The representation of power is symbolized by the holding of a single leopard in each hand, as we know leopards are the some of the fastest and most fierce animals in the jungle. At the bottom of the plaque we can see a mudfish on each side of the body. The mudfish is able to burry itself during the dry season and survive until the wet season giving it the ability to live in two worlds, the mudfish can also at times carry an electrical charge meaning they can shock you just like Oba can. The plagues have very deep meanings that can only be seen in the detail of the plaques. Connections to individuality, spiritually, strength, and others are the main ideas these plaques used making them unique to African art.

Ø  “Benin Plaques.” Khanacademy.org, 2020, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-africa/west-africa/nigeria/v/benin-plaques.

Ø  “Ancient Africa - Art & Life in Africa - The University of Iowa Museum of Art.” , Page 2 - Art & Life in Africa - The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art, africa.uima.uiowa.edu/chapters/ancient-africa/?start=1.

Comments

  1. Justin DwinellNovember 5, 2020 at 2:34 PM

    Hello Marcus,
    I liked how you started off your post with a false stereotype of to what we think the living situations were in ancient Africa. I felt that was a very important piece of history to bring into your post to help us understand more about what their culture and living was actually like. I thought you did a great job at explaining the different aspects of the Benin Plaque. The deep meaning of this piece is just mind blowing, do you believe there are any other symbols that should have been incorporated into these piece for the time it was created in?

    ReplyDelete
  2. ChloNovember 27, 2020 at 4:22 PM

    I did my blog post on the Great Enclosure as well, and I found them very empowering and interesting. The Benin plaque, however I have never heard about. From reading your post, the plaque is very detailed. I love that it has a deep meaning behind it.

    ReplyDelete

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