works are made. just five minutes from the palace, traditionally, it was the royal family and dignitaries who d commissioned pieces to mark historical events. this man spent 15 years mastering his craft. i ve been into bronze casting from childhood. i was taught by my father, which my father was taught by the forefathers. and it has been a family business, family work. so we ve grown into it, as a living. he s part of an exclusive guild of bronze casters which has 120 members that mostly work on this street. ..all practising a centuries old technique where wax models are used to create a detailed mould for the bronze to be cast in. it takes up to two weeks to make a piece, and it did
for centuries, this street, igun eronmwon, has been famous for one particular craft bronze casting. its name literally translates to the place where bronze works are made . just five minutes from the palace, traditionally, it was the royal family and dignitaries who d commission pieces to mark historical events. aigbe anthony spent 15 years mastering his craft. i ve been into bronze casting from childhood. i was taught by my father, which my father was taught by the forefathers, and it has been a family business, family work. so we ve grown into it as a living. he s part of an exclusive guild of bronze casters, which has 120 members that
the university has recently announced it s actually returning some of those, specifically benin bronzes, to nigeria. and it s there, in what was once known as the kingdom of benin, that i want to start this story. for centuries, this street, igun eronmwon, has been famous for one particular craft bronze casting. its name literally translates to the place where bronze works are made . just five minutes from the palace, traditionally, it was the royal family and dignitaries who d commission pieces to mark historical events. aigbe anthony spent 15 years mastering his craft. i ve been into bronze casting from childhood. i was taught by my father, which my father was taught by the forefathers, and it has been a family business, family work.
i ve been into bronze casting from childhood. i was taught by my father, which my father was taught by the forefathers, and it has been a family business, family work. so we ve grown into it as a living. he s part of an exclusive guild of bronze casters, which has 120 members that mostly work on this street, all practising a centuries old technique where wax models are used to create a detailed mould for the bronze to be cast in. it will take up to two weeks to make a piece, and it ll take up to a month, depends on the size of the job, for the artwork. whenever a tourist comes to nigeria, they want to visit this place, so they buy and they commission works.
by the forefathers, and it has been a family business, family work. so we ve grown into it as a living. he s part of an exclusive guild of bronze casters, which has 120 members that mostly work on this street, all practising a centuries old technique where wax models are used to create a detailed mould for the bronze to be cast in. it will take up to two weeks to make a piece, and it ll take up to a month, depends on the size of the job, for the artwork. whenever a tourist comes to nigeria, they want to visit this place, so they buy and they commission works. whilst the technique has remained the same, most are working off printed images,