Benin Bronze Casting Reaches Artistic Peak

1445

The lost-wax bronze-casting workshops of Benin City in the Edo kingdom produced portrait heads of astonishing naturalism and technical sophistication during this period. Cast by hereditary specialized guilds working under strict royal patronage, the bronzes depicted obas, queen mothers, leopards, and warriors with a precision and psychological depth that would later confound European collectors who simply refused to believe that African artisans were capable of such masterful artistic achievement.