1. Die Metallanalyse von Anhängern, Gürtelmasken, Armringen, Glocken, Musikinstrumenten, Gefäßen und Kleinteilen aus Benin im Ethnologischen Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
- Author
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RIEDERER, JOSEF
- Subjects
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METALWORK , *BENIN (Kingdom) art , *BRASSWORK , *BRONZES , *NINETEENTH century , *HISTORY ,BENIN (Kingdom) - Abstract
After the chemical analysis of the commemorative heads, the relief plaques and the statuettes from Benin in the Ethnological Museum in Berlin remaining smaller objects, the pendants, bracelets, bells and various tools, vessels and instruments have been analyzed by means of an atomic absorption analysis. Since from earlier analyses a relation between the composition and the type of Benin objects became obvious, again this study should first of all reveal the type of alloys which had been used for the manufacture of this group of objects. As a result of the analysis of the elements copper, tin, lead and zinc, which are the main elements of copper alloys, it has been found that brasses with very high concentrations of zinc predominate. These zinc rich brasses came in use in Benin not earlier than in the 19th century, when techniques had been developed to produce this type of brass. Besides this large group of late objects made from a brass rich in zinc, there are objects with medium and low concentrations of zinc and also tin bronzes which are free from zinc. By means of the trace element analysis, first of all from the concentrations of nickel, antimony, arsenic, silver and cadmium it could be shown, that most of these objects, which occur also in the early period of the Benin kingdom, are quite recent, since, contrary to the early objects with high concentrations of these trace elements, their low concentrations of trace elements prove, that they have been made in the 19th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013