Look at the Aqua’ba doll by the Asante in the de Young’s African collection. Take a picture of the front and back and upload them. Then, write one sentence about it. You must include in your sentence 1 context in which the dolls are used, the importance of the dolls being female within the Asante Confederacy, and at least one example of symbolism. Reflect upon feedback you’ve received on your Bamana sentence to help you write an excellent senten

Learning Goal: I’m working on a art writing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

2. Look at the Aqua’ba doll by the Asante in the de Young’s African collection. Take a picture of the front and back and upload them. Then, write one sentence about it. You must include in your sentence 1 context in which the dolls are used, the importance of the dolls being female within the Asante Confederacy, and at least one example of symbolism. Reflect upon feedback you’ve received on your Bamana sentence to help you write an excellent sentence

3.. After answering the questions below from the 3 articles on Canvas about repatriation, state what you would do about the bronze/brass Benin pieces in the de Young’s collection

What are the Benin Bronzes?

The Benin Bronzes come from Benin City, the historic capital of the Kingdom of Benin, a major city-state in West Africa from the medieval period. Today, Benin City is located within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The modern city of Benin is the home of the current ruler of the Kingdom of Benin, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II. Many of the rituals and ceremonies associated with the historic Kingdom of Benin continue to be performed today.

The Benin Bronzes refers to a large group of sculptures that include elaborately decorated cast plaques, commemorative heads, animal and human figures, items of royal regalia, and personal ornaments that were specifically cast in brass or bronze. They were created from at least the sixteenth century onward by specialist guilds working for the royal court of the oba (king) in Benin City.

How did this artwork leave Africa?

The Benin Bronzes made their way to Europe as a result of colonial violence. In 1897 the British Empire invaded the capital of the kingdom as part of an imperial campaign waged from 1892 through 1902 to bring modern-day Nigeria under British rule.

The British occupation of Benin City resulted in widespread destruction and looting by British forces. Along with other monuments and palaces, the Benin Royal Palace was burned and partly destroyed. Its shrines and associated compounds were looted, and thousands of artworks of ceremonial and ritual value were taken to London, the seat of the British Empire, as “spoils of war” or were distributed among members of the expedition according to their rank.

This included artworks removed from royal ancestral shrines, among them ceremonial brass heads of former obas and their associated ivory tusks. The looted artworks included more than nine hundred brass plaques, dating largely to the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries. Having previously decorated the palace walls, these plaques provide key historic records of the Benin court and kingdom, enabling researchers to better understand its historic practices and cultural traditions.

Directly following the British invasion, around two hundred Benin artworks were given to the British Museum by the secretary of state for British foreign affairs, while others were sold on the international art market. In addition to dealers and private collectors, the major clientele for African art at this time were newly established ethnographic museums in Europe.

What happened after Benin City was looted?

Following the British occupation of the city, the king, Oba Ovonramwen, was sent into exile in Alabar, while a number of his chiefs were executed. This violent event marked the end of Benin City’s independence and the beginning of British colonialization in Nigeria. However, when the Oba died in 1913, his son Eweka II was restored as oba but within the British protectorate. He prioritized a renewal of artistic patronage in Benin City.

Subsequent to the nineteenth-century dispersal of Benin works, awareness of their extraordinary aesthetic power, beauty, and complexity profoundly influenced Black public intellectuals. Notable among these in the US were W.E.B. Du Bois, Alain Locke, and artists from the Harlem Renaissance on. At the same time, the Benin Bronzes were relegated to ethnographic museums during the colonial era, reflecting the legacy of their forceful removal and isolation from comparative cultural achievements in Western culture.

In 1960, with the establishment of the Federation of Nigeria as an independent nation, Benin City became the capital of Edo State. In 2016, Oba Ewuare II assumed the title of Benin’s current oba. Since the end of British rule, African people within and outside Nigeria have called for the return of the Benin Bronzes.

4.Questions from Kravinsky’s article:

1. What happened in 1897?

2. Which European museum has the largest collection of Benin bronzes?

3. Which architect has been “tapped” to do a feasibility study for a museum in Nigeria’s Edo state?

4. Why does Charlotte Ashamu say that the opening of museums in Africa is of significant importance?

5. What does Gus Casley-Hayford say one Smithsonian study found about the vast majority of African museums?

article:https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institu…

Question from Machemer’s article:

1. What do you think about Les Marrons Unis Dignes et Courageux’s activist tactics? Do you think this can be an effective way to draw attention to the issue of repatriation? Explain why or why not.

article:https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/proteste…

Questions from Gbadamosi’s article:

1. How long have African governments been asking for the return of looted objects?

2. Has Nigeria received any Benin bronzes?

article:https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/15/africa-art-mu…

5:. El Anatsui’s Bleeding Takari II, 2007, aluminum and copper wire, 20 feet wide on left and Faith Ringgold’s The Flag is Bleeding, 1967, 72 x 96″, on the right.

The name Takari is a fictional one that the artist made up, but the fact that he includes bleeding in the title makes viewers wonder what he is referring to? In Faith Ringgold’s The Flag is Bleeding, she also uses bleeding in the title. After looking at the African collection, go to the Ringgold exhibition just to the left of the entrance to the African collection and look at this painting by her. Why is the flag bleeding? What’s different about the overall impact of these two different styles of art?

6:Now, go look at Faith Ringgold’s painted quilt Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles, 1996, from her French Collection. Take a picture of it and upload it. Who are the eight Black women and the one man? How does Ringgold present these Black women within the quilt? How is it similar or different from Nelson’s use of cloth/textiles to present the Black man?