Slide 1
Benin guild artists cast the Horn Player in metal
The Horn Player was made by brass-casting guild artists of the Benin Kingdom. Its finished surface carries a history of making.
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The Horn Player is a work of the Benin Kingdom's brass-casting guild artists. Its finished metal surface is the outcome of earlier work in other materials. Studying the object brings wax, clay and technical judgment into view, alongside the history of its removal and collection.
Slide 2
A wax form leaves a space for the metal
Lost-wax casting begins with a temporary wax form enclosed by a mold. Removing the wax leaves space for metal.
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In lost-wax casting, a wax model establishes a form that a surrounding mold can preserve. Removing the wax creates space for metal. This simplified relationship explains the method without reconstructing the particular workshop decisions behind every detail of the Horn Player.
Slide 3
“Benin Bronzes” does not tell us every object’s metal
That group name does not specify every work’s alloy, or mixture of metals. The Horn Player is catalogued as brass and iron.
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The collective name 'Benin Bronzes' does not describe the precise composition of every work. The Horn Player's catalogue identifies brass and iron. Specific material identification matters: a familiar group label cannot replace examination of the object or recognition of the guild's skilled production.
Slide 4
Traces of making do not explain themselves
Conservation examines materials, surface condition and traces of making. Residues do not automatically reveal their original purpose.
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Conservation investigation studies surface condition, materials and traces of making. Such observations can illuminate casting practice, but a residue does not automatically disclose its original purpose. Uncertain explanations for clay remains should stay uncertain, rather than becoming a confident reconstruction of a lost step.
Slide 5
The history must include both making and seizure
An account of Benin casting should include the artists’ skill and the 1897 seizure context associated with the collections. Both belong in the object’s history.
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Benin's casting skill deserves close attention, and so does the 1897 seizure context associated with these collections. Appreciation becomes more accurate when it includes both. An object's materials help explain its making; its provenance explains how it came to be encountered in a collection far from that original setting.
Sources
- Recovering the Brilliance of a Benin Bronze
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ellen Howe
- Horn Player
Metropolitan Museum of Art