Whydah Galley

[fernando]

After Europeans (Portuguese) started trading in Benin, local people, who sculpted bronze works using with the lost wax method since the XIII century, began giving a direction to such art, other than the depictions of nobility and other selective works for palatial ceremonial decoration. They then started casting works under commission by soldiers to bring back to wealthy clients as also symbolic appearances of Portuguese soldiers often sided by the sadly famous manilhas, for local patrimony. One may read here and there that many of these basic manilhas were melted to provide for the so called Bronzes of Benin, an art that made Europeans assume that Africans were not ignorant savages.
The bust attached, one that i bought, represents Queen mother Idia (XVI century), in a tribute by locals to her skills in contributing for her son battle victories. These busts were placed in the King's palace, part of ceremonial shrines. Such faces were not to correspond to real faces, but only allegoric.
Also suggestive is the plaque with King Oba surrounded by two kneeling servants, plus two Portuguese on the top sides, one of them holding a manilha (British museum).

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