The tradition of the Benin bronzes is an art that uses the lost wax method of bronze casting. This art has passed down from generation to generation and is still carried out today within a guild of bronze casters. It is at the origin of the large number of bronzes scattered in museum collections throughout the world due to the looting of Benin City (Nigeria) Palace by British troops at the end of the 19th century. The MEG counts a few pieces from this looting in its collections.

To grasp the history of the Benin bronzes and the importance of this heritage for the descendants of the Kingdom of Benin, Samson Ogiamien, an artist born into a family of Royal Bronze casters, offers to the public an introductory workshop on lost wax casting. This technique is employed to create ancestral bells that are used in the palace of Ogiamien and in the palace of the Oba (the King) to contact the ancestors.

This is a unique opportunity to learn the practice of lost wax casting, how to model wax on molds and how to create patterns together with an introduction to the whole process. All the materials and equipment you need will be provided for you to create your own bells.

This event is part of a series of participatory creative workshops that bring together artists and the public around an artistic technique closely linked to objects in the MEG collections. In addition, the workshop is carried out within the framework of the European Crafts Days (JEMA).

Speaker

• Samson Ogiamien is an artist from Benin City, Nigeria. He currently lives and works in Graz, Austria. He comes from a family of Royal Bronze Casters linked to the Igun Eronmwon guild. Today, guild members live in a quarter of Benin City, the capital of the former kingdom of Benin and the current state of Edo in southern Nigeria.

The workshop will be held in English, with French translation.

The workshop is open to all, even non-experts, subject to availability.