The Benin Bronzes: The Long Journey Home
Read about why the return of the Benin Bronze artifacts is so important, the progress made so far to repatriate the artworks, and what it will take to finally make powerful institutions return them home
Walking into the African section of the British museum is like stepping into a world of cultural wonder. One of the first things you might see is an installation of bronze plaques, about 50 of them strung to each other. Move closer, and you see that each plaque is an intricate carving of miniature full-scale portraits depicting regal, royal characters. Each one is fascinating and beautiful. These plaques are but a fraction of the Benin Bronze collection looted from the great Benin Kingdom, now in modern day Edo State, Southern Nigeria.
The Benin Bronzes are arguably the most famous artifacts to come out of the country. Some of these works date all the way back to the 13th century and show just how rich and yes, civilized, the people of Benin Kingdom were. The Benin Bronzes, and such works like them, make us seriously question the ‘Dark Continent’ label that has plagued Africa since its coinage by the ‘civilized West’. Each piece of metalwork reveals skills and intricacies that could only have been envisioned and brought to life by a developed civilization.
But despite how famous the Benin Bronzes are, most Nigerians have never even seen one. That’s because most of the artifacts are miles away, on display in up to 160 museums around the world, but mostly concentrated in the UK and Germany (the British Museum has the largest concentration with about 900 objects). Many more are locked away in private collections.
“In fact, overall, it’s believed that over 90% of cultural artifacts from Africa are currently outside of the continent”
It really is a sad situation for several reasons. First is cultural. An appreciation of history, culture and tradition is a significant part of a nation’s education, and is a great part of what creates a sense of identity. Unfortunately, with thousands of such artworks never seen, even in pictures, this opportunity is lost for the people of Benin and for Nigeria as a whole.
The second is financial. Museums thrive because both nationals and tourists are drawn to these cultural artifacts and the enticing stories behind them. This additional source of income means a whole ecosystem of skills and means of living is burgeoning. This is an opportunity that Nigeria is also in dire need of.
Professor Peju Layiwola agrees. The prestigious award-winning artist, teacher, and member of the Benin Royal Family spoke to us about why it is so important to repatriate the Benin Bronzes. Layiwola followed in the footsteps of her mother who was the first female bronze caster in Nigeria. Given her history and her professional experience, she has been a vocal advocate for bringing the Bronzes and other works home.
“We need to correct the history of pillage”, she said. “This is a violent part of the history of British incursion on a society that was well administered…it is important that there’s some level of commitment from the people who perpetrated this.
“The artifacts are also very valuable - both to the culture, and because of the materials used to make them as brass was the most valued and revered material there was. These artifacts are treasured records of history and so they need to be returned for culture, for continuation of the tradition of bronze casting, and to make amends for the destruction that truncated a whole civilization”.
Obviously, the case for repatriation of the Benin Bronzes is strong. But how did we get here in the first place.
How the art was taken
Benin Kingdom was one of the most prosperous regions in modern day Nigeria, bolstered by trade and an unrivaled security system. In 1853, the British started trading with the Kingdom but despite efforts, were unable to exert control. You can imagine how strained things became when Benin Kingdom absolutely refused to become a British Annex like many other kingdoms around them during the ‘scramble for Africa’.
Truly, they were stubborn, strong, influential, and well defended with their popular Benin wall (which even rivaled the Great Wall of China) and the might of their proud Oba, Ovonramwen Nogbaisi. These ideals made the Kingdom a legend, even to this day.
But change was upon them in January 1897, and it came with a spark lit on a powder keg of immense pressure that was just waiting to be ignited. The strained relations with the British were further intensified with the signing of an 1892 treaty that seemingly provided the Kingdom with British protection and humanitarian assistance in exchange for favorable trade deals. The Oba was hesitant to sign it from the beginning; still he did, but was soon filled with regret when he realized just how much the treaty shortchanged the Kingdom in the trade deal. Understandably, he started blocking trade routes between the inland region and the British at the ports. The match was lite.
By 1897, Consul-General Phillips visited the Kingdom to convince the Oba to open up trade. That was a disguise though - he was ready for war before he ever set foot on the land. He had formally asked the British Empire to approve an invasion into Benin City, and was well prepared to loot the valuable ivory in the Palace to make up for the expedition costs. Before he even got a formal response, he packed up a party masquerading as a diplomatic mission, and weapons hidden, entered into the Palace despite inappropriate timing of a cultural celebration.
The Oba’s spies were onto him though, and in true spy movie fashion, royal guards and servants caught Philip’s party unprepared and killed them all. The lite match was now set to the powder keg and the explosion had gone off. This was just the excuse the British were waiting for to make a ‘justified’, full-force, expensive, invasion. And they did.
The invasion was swift, and was, in fact, a massacre. Up to 1,200 Royal Marines, sailors and protectorate forces descended in full force and cleared out the city in only 5 days with barely a scratch to their own forces.
What followed afterwards is the origin of more than 3,000 Benin religious artifacts and artworks striped out of the Palace and its surroundings. About 1,000 of these are the famous bronze plaques and pieces known as the Benin Bronzes. The plunder was a free-for-all. Soldiers took any artifacts that they could find from alters, walls and homes. Many of the artifacts ended up in the British Museum, others were auctioned off to retrieve the cost of the massacre, while others ended up in the homes of the Soldiers.
The indiscriminate stripping of these cultural and religious works was a tragic loss for the Kingdom. A black hole in the history and tradition of a great people had been created. But can this hole now ever be refilled in the 21st century?
Progress on Restitution of the Benin Bronzes
Calls for the repatriation of these artifacts are not new, and in fact has been going on near on 50 years. Perhaps the most glaring message of repatriation is one that angers Nigerians even now.
As Nigeria was preparing for the famous 1970s Festac cultural festival, they requested a 16th-century ceremonial mask from the Benin Bronze collection in the British Museum. The museum mandated an unreasonably high insurance cover of 3 million Dollars for the transport, effectively cutting short the request. The government was infuriated beyond measure and has never forgotten the effrontery.
But recent contemporary voices and new alliances are putting more pressure on museums and other institutions to give back the Benin Bronzes. Interestingly, there has been some positive movement.
Only this year, there have been numerous commitments from Europe to return the Benin objects. And by numerous, we mean about three solid commitments. Still, this has been monumental in light of how the issue has been largely ignored till now. For example, officials in Germany (Berlin’s Humboldt Forum) are currently negotiating the restitution of up to 500 Benin artifacts!
“We face a historic and moral responsibility to shine a light on Germany’s colonial past,” says German Culture Minister Monika Grütters (via Smithsonian Magazine). “We would like to contribute to understanding and reconciliation with the descendants of people who were robbed of their cultural treasures during the colonial era.”
Also, the University of Aberdeen is the first UK institution to agree, unconditionally, to return the historical artwork in their possession - a bronze sculpture of a regal Oba head. And the National Museum of Ireland has agreed to send home 21 Benin Bronze objects.
There have also been a plethora of other declarations.
The Church of England has two bronze busts in its possession and has stated that it is willing to repatriate them. The Horniman Museum in London, possessing about 50 Benin objects, recently published a procedure to request for repatriation of objects from its collection. The Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology in Cambridge has also developed a similar policy. Also, the British Museum, which should be at the forefront of these activities given its immense collection, says it’s in talks with Nigerian colleagues on uniting the artworks from its own, and others’ collections. The Pitt Rivers Museum, possessing about 100 objects, is also in these same talks.
“We acknowledge the profound loss the 1897 looting of Benin City caused and, alongside our partners…we aim to work with stakeholders in Nigeria to be part of a process of redress ”
Despite all these commitments and declarations though, not much concrete action has happened. This might be for a number of reasons - the most obvious being money as mentioned earlier. European museums, and most notably, the British museum, has benefited greatly from the public who are drawn to the collection, and pay good money to see it. For example, the British museum is huge, and typically has large sections allocated to different cultures, Africa being no different. The Benin Bronzes make up a significant part of their African collection (both on display and in storage) and even takes center stage in their display. Letting these go would create a huge gap, and of course, a huge loss of assets and income.
“A lot of the objects have changed hands, and loads of money is being made through commercial transactions such as numerous auctions in top auction houses like Sotheby’s, showings in blockbuster exhibitions, publishings in luxury publications, etc.” said Professor Layiwola.
Other concerns have been raised too, such as a British regulation that doesn’t allow disposal of artifacts, worries about the proper upkeep and maintenance in a market that lacks top restoration skills, as well as safety considerations. But the regulation has been waived before, and the skills concern may be a chicken and egg scenario (with the new business would come an ecosystem to support it). So these can easily be dealt with if the museums are truly committed to parting with the money.
What happens next?
The Benin Dialogue Group, established in 2010, has been a loud voice for restitution of the Benin Bronzes. The Group is a coalition of museum directors and representatives from across Europe, along with the Royal Court of Benin, Edo state government, Nigeria’s National Commission for Museum & Monuments, and the Legacy Restoration Trust. They have a monumental, unprecedented, and undoubtedly challenging goal - to agree a process of repatriation and create a perpetual home for the returned Benin Bronzes and other Benin artifacts.
One such home is envisioned as the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA), to be located in Benin City and designed by the acclaimed Ghanaian-British architect, David Adjaye. The museum will be a place where the artworks are on permanent display to the public, hopefully from 2023.
Professor Layiwola wants to see things done differently though - “We need to have a right and better way to show these artifacts, not just rehashing the Western museum culture. Instead, we should think about the works in a new way, one that celebrates and promotes the community”.
The current proposal is for most of the artifacts to first be returned on a three-year loan, with the possibility of renewal. It’s unclear how long the loan renewals will be, or whether there would be some sort of revenue sharing or fees. Needless to say, the loan story does not sit well with many.
“The artworks should be released unconditionally.” says Layiwola. “There needs to be clear ownership establishing that the works belong to the Royal Family as these are the forefathers’ treasures. There also needs to be agreement on how and where the works can be shown (in Benin City where the culture is established). Once we can reconcile these discussions, we can have a proper handover of the objects”.
Even as the proposed new museum showcases the rich history of the Benin people, it will also showcase more contemporary works of art, which will hopefully be as famous in the next 100 years to come. Benin continues to be a cultural and artistic hub, still famous for its brass and bronze works, so this is fitting.
“Benin art should be seen as continuous, with a lot of people who can draw on the culture and extend it even further than what it was then. Younger Nigerians can see what their forebears did and through this, have a strengthened sense of identity”
But action towards repatriation has a long way to go, and in fact, we can say that we’re only just beginning. It will be a challenge encouraging museums and other institutions to part with these valuable pieces of historical art, and to do so fully. No loan models, no potential profit sharing, but rather, give these artifacts the proper send-forth home that they deserve.
But to do so, would an appeal to ‘doing the right thing’ be a big enough push to move past current dialogues and into concrete action? Professor Layiwola thinks so. “There is now a moral issue at hand - people are beginning to ask for repairs and justice for looting the objects from Nigeria (and all of Africa in fact). There is now a greater awareness of restitution, fairness and equity from around the world, e.g. as seen with Black Lives Matter”.
These discussions are undoubtedly gaining ground, and institutions are feeling the pressure. Now that these social issues are at the forefront of minds around the globe, and discussions are ongoing to agree terms of repatriations, things are looking up. And we look on with ever-hopeful eyes at the resolution which will finally see the bulk of the Benin Bronzes back where they belong. In the great Benin Kingdom.
We leveraged on a rich repository of articles on this topic. These include CNN, NY Times, DW, Observer, Apollo Magazine, Markk Hamburg, Aljazeera, and VOA News
Words by Adiya | Collages by Jumbo O. Clinton (JOC), commissioned by Muse Origins | Quotes from Peju Layiwola