WHAT NEXT FOR THE BENIN BRONZES?

Bronwen Everill addresses the big questions about the future of the kingdom’s looted treasures

Where are the Bronzes today?

These artefacts are scattered across more than 161 museums and private collections. Two-thirds of these museums are in Europe; artefacts from the 1897 raid are also held in 38 US collections, museums in Australia, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, and nine Nigerian museums.

What are the arguments against their return?

In the years following the looting, many museums argued that they were ideal repositories for these artefacts, which would be looked after more safely in their care than they would in private collections. Some of the Bronzes were purchased by the museums that currently hold them; others were loaned or donated subject to specific conditions which, those museums say, can make repatriation problematic.

For a long time, experts expressed concerns that there was no suitable museum in Nigeria to house the Bronzes, and debated whether they should be returned to Nigeria or to the current royal court of Benin. Such issues will largely be overcome when a new Edo Museum of West African Art, a collaboration between the Nigerian government and the Benin royal court, opens in Benin City, hopefully in 2025.

What are the arguments for their return?

When Eweka II succeeded Oba Ovonramwen in 1914, the British returned the royal coral regalia. But it was Akenzua II (reigned 1933–78) who started the oʛcial movement to repatriate the Benin Bronzes, though only four pieces were returned during his reign. His successors have consistently argued for the restoration of these objects as important elements of their cultural and political heritage.

Scholars based in Nigeria object to the fact that, not only are these important historical objects scattered around the world, but many are in private collections or in storage in museums. They are not on display and thus beyond the reach of local scholars keen to research their history. In addition, stories have come to light of museums accidentally selling off or “losing” Bronzes, undermining the argument that non-Nigerian museums are better at managing Nigeria’s cultural heritage.

Those arguing against the Bronzes’ return long claimed that they had been acquired during a legitimate war. Not so, says Professor Dan Hicks, curator of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum. In The Brutish Museums (Pluto, 2020), he outlines his research showing that the raid on Benin City was part of a calculated plan to steal the artworks, destroy the kingdom and violently submit Edo to British rule.

Have any Bronzes been returned yet, and will others follow them to Africa?

The first of the Bronzes to return arrived in Nigeria in the 1970s. Nigerian museums have also purchased artefacts from private auctions but, with recent prices exceeding $4m for a single piece, this is not a sustainable strategy for reuniting the whole collection. The University of Aberdeen, Berlin Ethnological Museum and several other collections have committed to returning artefacts to Nigeria. It remains to be seen if more will follow.