The Bronze Story and Potentials for Economy

Between the Stone Age and the Iron Age (2500 B.C.-1000 B.C.), the Egyptians and Nubians adopted the “Cire Perdue” (lost wax) bronze casting techniques. This process was superior in technical mastery to the Etruscan and Greek process, common in Europe at the time. The “Cire Perdue” involved molding special clay as base. Then a likeness of what is to be modeled is put over this base and sun dried. When sufficiently dried, all these are dipped in molten metal. It takes the place of the wax and the object is formed.
The Bini speaking people are one of the ethnic groups that migrated from Egypt. They moved down south from the Nile till they got to another great river, the Niger. Eventually, the Binis settled at the Niger delta, close to the Atlantic Ocean. Across this ocean, the Benin Kingdom would have access to Europe and America in the very near future.
With the bronze casting skills on their fingertips, the inhabitants of Benin kingdom produced wonderful works of Bronze that till date command high prices in the international art market. A 9 inch Benin Bronze King’s head was recently auctioned in Sotheby in New York for about $4.9million in the second quarter of 2007. This masterpiece sold was made in the sixteenth century.
Oba Oguola, a great Benin king foresaw a bright future for Benin Bronze works and constituted the guild of Bronze casters. A Street, Igun, became the home of Bronze casting.
The peak of Benin Bronze Works was around the 16th century, about two hundred years after a Portuguese, Ruy de Sequila visited Benin City in 1472. Many Benin Bronze work thus found their way into art collections and galleries in Europe. This sophistication and ingenuity stunned Western art collectors and enthusiasts.
After the banishment of Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar in 1897, his son Oba Eweka II was enthroned and thus restoring a monarchy that was not ever interrupted in about three-quarters of a millennium. Eweka II liberalized the Bronze casting culture and the ordinary citizens could patronize the guild of Bronze casters. Before this time, only the royal family had such rights.

Challenges Facing the Industry.

The challenges ahead for the bronze tradition are many. Prominent amongst these challenges is the procurement of raw materials. Brass, the primary component of the bronze casting works is now exported to Taiwan and other countries. Naturally, this has led to inflated prices for the product. Also, constituted authorities have not mapped out strategies to break Bronze works and other arts works into the mainstream of the new millennium computer age economy. Proper planning triggered by support from the private institutions is the only tradition as old as the millennium will survive and thrive.