New research from the Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola in Bochum, Germany has finally offered conclusive evidence about the origin of the brass used to create the famous Benin Bronzes of present-day Nigeria. The Benin Bronzes are ancient works of art and cultural artifacts that were pillaged during Britain’s 1897 colonial capture of the Kingdom of Benin. Over 3,000 Benin Bronzes were taken during the raid, with most displayed in museums in Europe and North America. Only a few remain in museums in Nigeria.
While historians have long suspected that the brass used to create the sculptures originated from Europe, researchers have been unable to identify the source of the metals used. However, a new study published on Wednesday provides evidence that the brass used to create Benin’s 16th and 17th-century bronzes came from Germany’s Rhineland region.
According to Tobias Skowronek, the lead author of the study, the Benin Bronzes are the most famous ancient works of art in all West Africa. He said, “Finally, we can prove the totally unexpected: the brass used for the Benin masterpieces, long thought to come from Britain or Flanders, was mined in western Germany. This is the first time a scientific link has been made.”
The study used Rolf Denk’s classification system for manillas, which were horseshoe-shaped items used as currency in Africa and shipped to Africa by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. The manillas were made from bronze, copper or brass, and were originally made in several European countries at different times in history before being shipped to Africa via European traders.
Denk’s work identified three main types of manillas used in West Africa between 1439 and 2019. The earliest manillas traded by the Portuguese, known as “tacoais,” dated back to 1450 and were traded in the Kingdom of Benin and Elmina (present-day Ghana), and were made from metal originating in Germany. The “Birmingham” manillas were used from 1625 to 1949 in present-day southeast Nigeria and were made from metals in the UK. The third type, “popo” manillas, were used from 1600 to 1914 and were distinct from both the Birmingham and the tacoais, traded in Ivory Coast, and made in the UK, Netherlands, Portugal, and France.
To piece together the puzzle, the researchers analysed around 70 manillas physically identifiable as “tacoais” from shipwrecks in African, American and European waters between the 16th and 19th centuries. The composition of the tacoais manillas was found to be very similar to the composition of Benin Bronzes, with both containing ores from Germany’s Rhineland.
The authors of the study concluded that artisans in Benin likely melted down the manillas originating in Germany to make the Benin Bronzes. “This study definitively identifies the Rhineland as the principal source of manillas at the opening of the Portuguese trade,” the authors wrote in the study. “Millions of these artifacts were sent to West Africa where they likely provided the major, virtually the only, source of brass for West African casters between the 15th and the 18th centuries, including serving as the principal metal source of the Benin Bronzes.”
The research provides new insights into early Atlantic trade and African use of European goods. It offers an opportunity to reconnect the Benin Bronzes with their original cultural and historical context, which could prove crucial in ongoing discussions about their repatriation to Nigeria.
