The sixteenth-century cast brass wall plaques from the Oba's palace in Benin represent a high point of court portraiture and royal regalia. In addition to illustrating court ceremonies and the Oba's military authority, these plaques reflect Benin's active trade networks with European powers. Which of the following features of the plaques' production or design most directly indicates this intercontinental exchange?
- AThe application of gold leaf over a carved wooden substrate, a technique acquired from Asante royal court artists.
- The use of cast brass, which was primarily sourced by melting down European copper and brass trade bracelets called manillas.Cevap
- CThe insertion of iron blades and nails into the relief figures to ceremonially activate their judicial authority.
- DThe placement of the plaques within dark, subterranean shrines to facilitate ritual circumambulation by the Oba.
Cevap
The use of cast brass, which was primarily sourced by melting down European copper and brass trade bracelets called manillas.
The correct answer is the use of cast brass sourced from melting down European trade bracelets (manillas). The Kingdom of Benin established trade relations with Portuguese merchants in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Portuguese traded brass and copper bracelets, known as manillas, which Benin metalworkers melted down to cast the relief plaques that decorated the royal palace, demonstrating a direct material and economic link to European trade.
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Anahtar Kavram
The relationship between Benin royal art production and Portuguese trade, specifically through the material of cast brass obtained from manillas.
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