LaurieAnnie's photos with the keyword: brass

Title: Candlestick Artist: Jehan Aert van Tricht (Netherlandish, active Maastricht 1492–1501) Date: ca. 1500 Geography: Made in Maastricht or Xanten Culture: South Netherlandish Medium: Brass Dimensions: Overall: 11 13/16 x 5 13/16 x 5 11/16 in. (30 x 14.7 x 14.4 cm) Classification: Metalwork-Brass Credit Line: Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964 Accession Number: 64.101.1534 Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/468672

Title: Candlestick Artist: Jehan Aert van Tricht (Netherlandish, active Maastricht 1492–1501) Date: ca. 1500 Geography: Made in Maastricht or Xanten Culture: South Netherlandish Medium: Brass Dimensions: Overall: 11 13/16 x 5 13/16 x 5 11/16 in. (30 x 14.7 x 14.4 cm) Classification: Metalwork-Brass Credit Line: Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964 Accession Number: 64.101.1534 Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/468672

Warrior Chief and Attendants, 16th–17th century Nigeria; Edo peoples, court of Benin Brass; H. 18 3/4 in. (47.6 cm) Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1990 (1990.332) During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a remarkable series of works were created to adorn the exterior of the royal palace in Benin City. A seventeenth-century Dutch visitor to the court of Benin, Olfert Dapper, described the sprawling palace complex—with its many large courtyards and galleries—as containing wooden pillars covered from top to bottom with rectangular cast brass plaques. These plaques are understood to have autonomous meaning and to tell complex narratives in relationship to one another. At some point the plaques were removed from the palace facade, as they were no longer there when the British arrived in the region. One scholar has surmised that they "were kept like a card index up to the time of the Punitive Expedition, and referred to when there was a dispute about courtly etiquette." The authors of such works were far more concerned with the communication of hierarchies and status than in capturing individual physical features. These plaques conform to a convention of "hierarchical proportions" wherein the largest figure is the one with the greatest authority and rank. In this example, it is a warrior chief. He is in the center, flanked on either side by soldiers of lesser rank. Regalia and symbols of status are emphasized above all other aspects of the subject depicted. For example, the warrior is shown with leopard-spot scarification marks and a leopard-tooth necklace, which associate him with the stealth, speed, and ferocity of the leopard. As "king of the bush," the leopard is one of the principle symbols of Benin kingship. Additionally, the warrior chief wears a coral-studded helmet and collar, a lavish wrap, and a brass ornament on his hip. In his left hand he carries a ceremonial sword, a gesture of honor and loyalty, and holds a spear in his other hand. The servile status of the figures flanking the warrior chief is indicated by the objects they carry. One attendant has a fan used to cool the warrior chief, the other a trumpet to announce his presence. A third attendant brings a box containing an offering of kola nuts for the oba (king). Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/sfg/hod_1990.332.htm

Altar Tableau with Queen Mother and Attendants Nigeria, Kingdom of Benin, Edo peoples 18th century Brass Accession # 1991.17.111 Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Altar to the Hand of the Ezomo (Ikegobo) Nigeria, Kingdom of Benin, Edo peoples 18th-19th Century Brass Accession # 1996.11 Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Title: Head of an Oba Artist: Edo artist Date: 16th century Geography: Nigeria, Igun-Eronmwen guild, Court of Benin Culture: Edo artist Medium: Brass Dimensions: H. 9 1/4 x W. 8 5/8 x D. 9 in. (23.5 x 21.9 x 22.9 cm) Classification: Metal-Sculpture Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 Accession Number: 1979.206.86 This commemorative cast-brass sculpture depicts the idealized likeness of an oba, or king, wearing a woven cap of coral beads, with lateral strands of coral suspended around both ears. A single bead extends from the headdress to the forehead, aligned with the ridge of the nose, creating bilateral symmetry. The youthful face is round and rendered with precise naturalism. A rolled collar is worn low on the neck and is characteristic of imagery associated with Benin rulers. A circular opening at the summit of the head would have accommodated a carved elephant tusk. This sculpture would have held a place of honor on an altar in the palace of the kingdom of Benin (in present-day Nigeria), during the early half of the sixteenth century. The obas of Benin trace their origins to a ruling dynasty that began in the fourteenth century. The title of oba is passed on to the firstborn son at the time of the ruler’s death. The first obligation of the new king was to create a shrine, dedicated to his predecessor and serving as the site at which the living monarch communicated with his ancestor or father. Ensuring dynastic continuity, the shrine held various carved and cast artifacts, including freestanding brass heads such as this one. The head acted as a vessel through which the late king transferred his power to the new king, the latter accepting the responsibility for successfully directing and defining his life. The Edo people considered the head to be the locus of a man’s character, knowledge, authority, success, and family leadership. These sculptural heads were a consistent visual point of reference from ruler to ruler, reinforcing the idea of familial succession across a single dynasty. The oba is often called by his praise name “Great Head,” emphasizing the head of the living leader as the center of responsibility for the kingdom. Brass heads of the first half of the sixteenth century, such as this one, are distinguished by their naturalism and by the thin walls of their brass casting. The relatively minimal amount of brass used to make this light cast and the proportionately small amount of regalia depicted indicated that the head was created early on. Art historians have suggested that over the centuries, as greater quantities of brass became available, casters had less incentive to be economical with the material, and the trappings of office worn by the kings of Benin became more ostentatious. This genre of commemorative portraiture is highly stylized and does not portray recognizable facial features, but rather renders the deceased king at the prime of his life. The focus is on the regalia and materials of kingship: both brass and coral were items of wealth obtained by Benin’s leadership from Europe through the coastal trade. Coral is of particular significance to the Edo as a metaphor for the ancestral realm of the sea. The use of brass for commemorative heads dates to the fifteenth century, as a way for the Oranmiyan Dynasty rules to distinguish themselves from the previous dynasty of rules. During this time, artists of Benin in dialogue with their patrons developed a sculptural program for commemoration in which the depiction of the oba went from representational to idealization, reinforcing the continuity of the dynasty and its identification with a consistent ideal of leadership. Even today, the Edo value brass for its red color and shiny surface, which make it both beautiful and frightening, properties befitting the images of divine monarchs. Beyond aesthetic qualities, the use of brass conferred on the works a sense of permanence and imbued them with the potential to deflect evil. Bibliography Barley, Nigel. The Art of Benin. The British Museum Press: London, 2010. Dark, Phillip. An Illustrated Catalogue of Benin Art. G.K. Hall & co: Boston, 1982. Illus. 31 Ezra, Kate. Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 1992. LaGamma, Alisa. Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 2012. Plankensteiner, Barbara (ed.). Benin Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria. The Art Institute of Chicago: Chicago, 2007. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/312290

Title: Head of an Oba Date: 19th century Geography: Nigeria, Court of Benin Culture: Edo peoples Medium: Brass, iron Dimensions: H. 13 1/4 × W. 10 3/4 × D. 11 1/8 in. (33.7 × 27.3 × 28.3 cm) Classification: Metal-Sculpture Credit Line: Bequest of Alice K. Bache, 1977 Accession Number: 1977.187.37 The leaders of the kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria trace their origins to a ruling dynasty that began in the fourteenth century. The title of "oba," or king, is passed on to the firstborn son of each successive king of Benin at the time of his death. The first obligation of each new king during this transfer of rule is to commemorate his father with a portrait cast in bronze and placed on an altar at the palace. The altar constitutes an important site of palace ritual and is understood to be a means of incorporating the ongoing influence of past kings in the affairs of their descendents. In honoring the royal ancestors, the cast-brass heads refer to the special role of the head in directing not only the body but also a person's success in life. Taken further, the welfare of the entire kingdom depends upon the king's head, which is itself the object of worship. The placement of brass heads on the ancestral altar is a vivid reminder of the oba's role in successfully guiding the kingdom throughout his reign. The overall cylindrical shape, extended beaded collar covering the chin, addition of bead clusters to the crown, and wide flange at the base of this brass head identify it as belonging to a later period—probably late eighteenth century—of Benin brass casting. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/310283

Harness Pendant with Confronted Beasts, 500–600 Visigothic Brass, leaded 3 1/2 x 3 in. (8.9 x 7.6 cm) Purchase, Rogers Fund, Stephen K. Scher, Mrs. Maxime Hermanos, and Anonymous Gifts, Gift and Bequest of George Blumenthal, by exchange, and funds from various donors, 1990 (1990.52) The Visigoths enjoyed lively commercial contacts with lands all around the Mediterranean. This pendant reveals the familiarity of their artists with motifs from Greece and the Near East. Above the heads of the beasts is the loop through which a harness strap could be passed. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/06/eusi/ho_1990.52.htm The Visigoths Of the many people who settled in the western lands once part of the Roman Empire, the Franks and Visigoths were among the most successful. They were, in fact, rivals in their territorial claims- both vying for lands situated along what is now the border between France and Spain. After the Franks led by king Clovis defeated the Visigoths in 507, the latter retreated into Spain. There they established a kingdom that flourished culturally and economically until the early 700s, when it was conquered by Muslims who crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of art- additional non-specific work label information.

Clock Watch with Sundial Case of gilt brass, signed: Jan Jansen Bockels Inv et Sculpt Movement of gilt brass and steel, partly blued, signed: Ian Ianssen Bockeltz van Aecken Jan Jansen Bockeltz (d. 1626) Dutch (Haarlem), ca. 1605-1610 Accession # 17.190.1603 The engravings on the dial personify the Four Seasons. The dial also shows the phases and the age of the moon in its monthly cycle, the day of the month, and the number of days in each month. The sundial inside the cover can be used for setting the watch. The disc for setting the alarm is a replacement, as are the hands. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Watch Case and dial of gilt brass Movement of gilt brass and steel Flemish, dated 1571 Accession # 17.190.1548 The movement bears the punchmark of the clockmaker, WA. The engraving on the cover is from a print by Jacob Binck (ca. 1500-1569) entitled A Romantic Soldier Presenting Grapes to a Nude Woman. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Watch Case and dial of gilt brass Movement of gilt brass and steel Flemish, dated 1571 Accession # 17.190.1548 The movement bears the punchmark of the clockmaker, WA. The engraving on the cover is from a print by Jacob Binck (ca. 1500-1569) entitled A Romantic Soldier Presenting Grapes to a Nude Woman. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Planispheric astrolabe 1375 Petrus Raimundus, Barcelona, Spain Object Place: Barcelona, Spain Dimensions: 10.9 x 16.2 cm (4 5/16 x 6 3/8 in.) Material: Gilded brass Classification: Instruments Type: Scientific instrument Accession Number: 88.654 Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/planispheric-astrolabe-61726

Sestertius with a Bust of Emperor Nero about A.D. 65 Orichalcum (brass); Minted at Rome # 2004.1248 Text from the MFA label.

Sestertius with the Funeral Pyre of Emperor Antoninus Pius About AD 161 Orichalcum (brass); minted at Rome # 1997.139 Text from the MFA label.