베냉 브론즈: 유산, 귀환, 그리고 생존

### 송환 요구 속에서 베냉의 청동 주조 전통을 보존하다
* 🏺 1897년 약탈당한 베냉 청동 조각품이 나이지리아로 반환되고 있지만, **약 40명의 장인만이 전통 기법으로 새로운 조각품**을 계속 제작하고 있습니다.
* 🔥 청동 주조자인 프레드 일하마는 **이군 거리의 붉은 흙으로 코어 몰드를 만들고 왁스로 덮은 다음 소뼈를 사용하여 정교한 디테일**을 더합니다.
* 🌍 베냉 청동은 원래 역사를 기록하고 사건이나 왕의 복장을 묘사하는 데 사용되었으며, **베냉 왕국의 고귀한 장인들**이 만들었습니다.
* 🏛 약탈당한 청동기를 반환하려는 노력이 탄력을 받아 **미국, 독일, 영국이 일부 작품을 반환**했지만 상당수는 서구의 박물관에 남아 있습니다.
* 💰 역사적 유물에 대한 관심이 집중되는 동안 **프레드와 같은 현대 청동 주조 기술자들은 제한된 정부 지원**으로 기술을 유지하기 위해 고군분투하고 있습니다.
* 🛠 Fred의 주요 고객은 관광객과 현지 딜러이며, 그는 작업장을 지원하기 위해 **더 많은 직접 판매**를 희망하고 있습니다.
* 🏗 계획 중인 에도 서아프리카 미술관은 **반환된 청동상 중 일부에게 새로운 보금자리를 제공**할 수 있지만, 현재 장인들은 **소외감을 느끼고 있습니다.**
* 👨 청동 주조공의 대를 이은 프레드는 **"우리가 이것을 잃으면 우리의 역사를 잃는 것"**이라며 공예의 멸종을 우려합니다.

베냉의 청동 주조 기술자인 에부와 프레드 일하마는 약탈당한 유물을 돌려달라는 요구 속에서 자신의 기술을 보존하기 위해 고군분투하고 있습니다.

Narrator: Before casting
this sculpture in bronze, Ebuwa Fred Ilhama covers it with the red earth of
Nigeria's Benin City. These Benin bronzes are made the same way Fred's ancestors crafted
them more than 500 years ago. The artifacts have been
in the news recently as calls grow louder
to return the bronzes, which were looted and housed in museums across the Western world. While more and more of these
bronzes are being returned, only about 40 artisans remain
making new sculptures today, and they worry the craft
won't survive much longer. Narrator: They say the problem
is Nigeria's government will invest in the return
of stolen Benin bronzes, but they're not investing enough
in today's bronze casters. We went to Benin City to see how this craft is still standing and if artists can keep it
that way for much longer. To make a Benin bronze

Fred starts off by creating
the core of the piece — a rough mold out of the
red earth from Igun Street. This quarter was once
bustling with craftsmen, but today it's left with only a few dozen. They make up the Royal
Guild of Bronze Casters. Fred is one of these craftsmen, carrying on the legacy of his ancestors. Narrator: The core is made of
red earth from the same area bronze craftsmen have used for centuries. This statue is Fred's interpretation of the various busts of
Oba Esigie, or King Esigie, the ruler of the Benin Kingdom
in the early 16th century. He'll craft the bronze
with the same techniques the original craftsmen used. Narrator: When the wax is soft enough, Fred covers the core with
it and turns his attention to the more intricate
details of the art piece. He does this the traditional
way, with a cow bone.

Narrator: The purpose of Benin bronzes has always been to record history, like a depiction of an important event or something as simple as a king's unique style of dress. Narrator: Now that the details of the bust are complete, Fred covers it in layers of wet red earth. Some of Fred's earliest memories are playing with this red powdery soil. Narrator: As Fred is finishing up, he inserts at the base of the piece two bones, around which he forms an outlet where the melted wax will escape. Fred leaves the piece to dry overnight. The next day, Fred prepares the mold for firing. Narrator: Every part of the mold is covered except for the outlet. Now Fred can put it in the fire. This is where the meticulous preparation pays off. The wax around the inner core melts off and escapes through the outlet, creating a space between the layers of hardened soil in the shape of Oba Esigie.

This is called lost-wax casting. For Fred, the ingenuity of the technique continues to inspire him. Narrator: Fred melts these odds and ends into liquid bronze. He pours the metal into the outlet, filling the space left vacant by the wax melting. The molten bronze cools down and takes shape. Narrator: Fred hacks away at the outer layers, each blow from the hammer revealing lustrous bronze underneath. When he's done, he hands it over to Sasa for filing and polishing. Narrator: Sasa learned this work from his brother. It's the only step in the process that is modernized. He uses rasps to scrape away at the leftover hardened sand. Sasa picks at every crevice, making sure not to damage the artwork. Narrator: Using a polishing machine, Sasa buffs the bronze to a perfect sheen. Narrator: The techniques Fred and Sasa use were developed as early as the 1200s.

Back then, bronze casters were noblemen in the Kingdom of Benin, which predates the modern-day
nations of Nigeria and Benin. Bronze casters could spend
months working on a single piece. But 1897 was a turning point. The chiefs of Benin resisted
British commercial involvement and staged an ambush on
a trading expedition, killing British soldiers. In retaliation, the British
pillaged the oba's palace, stealing thousands of valuable pieces, including Benin bronzes. That February, the British
captured the Kingdom of Benin, and the looted sculptures were
auctioned off across Europe. As a result, museums in Benin City have very little to
show for their history. Segun: This is what has
projected the Benin Kingdom to the outside world. Welcome to National Museum Benin. You can see them. They will have some in between
their legs, behind them. All standers are the objects,
and these are all plaques.

And he's having a fun of himself
with a cigar in his mouth, and looking at the photographer. So, all these collections, most of them went through the
war to The British Museum, and some of them are still there to date. And we wish they would send
them back to where they belong. Narrator: Over a century later, public opinions started to change, with advocates calling to
return looted artifacts back to their original homes. Narrator: Nigeria has been requesting the return of these
artworks since the 1970s. Its efforts began to
pay off in October 2021, when the University of Cambridge became the first institution to return a Benin bronze to Nigeria. Since then, the United States
has returned 30 bronzes, Germany 22, and the UK eight. But this is a drop in the bucket compared to the 5,000
bronzes stolen in 1897. Fred says bronze casters like him

avoid going to the Museum of Benin because it forces them to confront this dark time in their history. Narrator: But in the next few years, Fred will be able to see some of those stolen bronzes up close at the planned Edo Museum of West African Art. It will cost an estimated $100 million, with part of the funding coming from the state of Edo, where Benin City is located. Narrator: But with so much attention being given to the return of the historical bronzes and the tourism they may promote, Fred says today's craftsmen are being neglected. Narrator: Even though Igun Street has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999, its artisans are struggling to preserve the renowned craft. Narrator: The original bronze casters weren't faced with these pressures. They were appointed into guilds by the oba, who would provide them with materials like bronze.

Benin City's craftsmen are looking for the same support today. Narrator: We reached
out to several agencies within the Nigerian and
Edo state governments, but did not receive a response. Fred's main customers are
tourists and local art dealers. He says profits are not enough
to sustain his workshop. He does most of his
sales through middlemen. Narrator: Fred recommends buyers source directly from the craftsmen until they receive financial support. Narrator: Saving the craft from extinction is so personal for Fred because he comes from a
line of bronze casters dating back to the 15th century. His family name, Ilhama, is
a title bestowed by the king. Narrator: This piece is one of
Fred's greatest inspirations. He helped his father
create this interpretation of a stolen original, which is held at the Princeton University
Art Museum in New Jersey.

Only 40 Benin Bronze Makers Are Left In Nigeria As Country Fights To Have Stolen Bronzes Returned

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베냉 청동기의 유산: 전통과 투쟁의 이야기

나이지리아 베냉의 붉은 흙으로 만들어진 베냉 청동은 약탈당한 역사와 함께 반환을 촉구하는 목소리가 높아지고 있습니다.

약 40명의 장인만이 남아 있어 수백 년 된 이 공예품의 생존에 대한 우려가 커지고 있습니다.

청동기의 반환에 대한 요구가 커지고 있지만 현재 베닌시티의 청동 주조 장인들은 투자와 지원 부족으로 어려움을 겪고 있습니다.

베냉 청동은 붉은 흙, 왁스, 액체 청동을 사용하는 로스트 왁스 주조라는 세심한 공정을 통해 만들어집니다.

1200년대 초에 개발된 이 기법은 흙으로 주형을 덮고 왁스를 녹여 청동을 넣을 공간을 만든 다음 청동을 광택이 나도록 연마하는 과정을 거칩니다.

공정의 마지막 단계인 파일링과 폴리싱은 현대화되었지만 전체적인 방식은 전통을 고스란히 간직하고 있습니다.

베냉 왕국의 청동 주조 장인들은 한때 고귀한 장인이었으며 수개월에 걸쳐 정교한 작품을 만들었습니다.

1897년 영국의 베냉 침공으로 수천 개의 베냉 청동상이 약탈당했고, 그 후 유럽 전역에서 경매에 부쳐져 베냉의 박물관은 그 역사를 잃어버렸습니다.

나이지리아의 지지와 노력으로 일부 청동상이 반환되었지만, 여전히 도난당한 5,000점의 수가 반환된 것보다 훨씬 많습니다.

계획 중인 에도 서아프리카 미술관은 1억 달러가 소요될 것으로 예상되며, 일부는 에도 주에서 자금을 지원할 예정입니다.

역사적인 청동기의 귀환에 대한 관심에도 불구하고 현재 베냉시의 장인들은 소외된 채 그들의 기술을 보존하기 위해 고군분투하고 있습니다.

15세기로 거슬러 올라가는 혈통을 가진 장인 프레드는 멸종 위기에 처한 공예를 구하기 위해 개인적으로 투자하고 있으며, 공방을 유지하기 위해 직접적인 구매자의 지원이 필요하다고 강조합니다.