After years of ignored pleas and frustrated requests, deals were finally taking place to return some of Africa’s most precious treasures to the continent.
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the German government announced that they would return scores of sculptures, plaques and ornaments, known as the Benin Bronzes, which British soldiers had looted in 1897 from Benin City, in what is now Nigeria but once the center of a kingdom. Plans were afoot for a new museum designed by British Ghanaian architect David Adjaye to display and protect the treasures.
But that plan has stalled since Nigeria’s outgoing president announced he had transferred ownership of the items to a direct descendant of the ruler from whom they had been stolen. At a time when museums around the world are trying to deal with disputed artifacts in their collections, this event shows how complex restitution efforts can be.
In March, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, who left office on May 29, issued a statement handing over the artifacts to Ewuare II, the current oba, or ceremonial king of Benin. He decreed that the returned artifacts “can be kept inside the oba’s palace”, or anywhere he deems safe.
The announcement, which recently surfaced outside of Nigeria, is widely seen as a move to end a longstanding dispute over who is the rightful owner: the Government of Nigeria, its National Commission for Museums and Monuments or the oba.
The oba wants the bronzes to be displayed in museums in Nigeria and around the world, a representative of the royal family said, but the passing of the treasures into private hands has raised anxiety among some museums.
Last month, the University of Cambridge in England postponed a ceremony to award 116 bronzes. A spokesman said the university was still “in discussions with all parties.”
But others in the museum sector said that Western institutions should not interfere. “None of the Smithsonian’s BusinessWhat happens now to the bronzes, said Linda St. Thomas, a spokeswoman for the museum, which last year turned ownership of 29 bronzes over to the Nigerian museum commission. Nigeria could “give them away, sell or display them,” he said. “They can do whatever they want.”
Last year, the German government signed an agreement with its Nigerian counterpart to transfer ownership of more than 1,000 looted bronzes. The German Foreign Minister flew to Nigeria in December and returned the first 20 items.
Hermann Parzinger, president of the body that oversees Berlin’s major publicly funded museums — where hundreds of bronzes are housed — said in a press release that there were “an urgent need to clarify” who owns the items and whether they will still be displayed in Nigeria.
Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin, a Swiss anthropologist, said Germany had failed to adequately consider issues of ownership of the items. The Kingdom of Benin traded slaves for the metal used to make themhe added, so the descendants of the slaves should have been involved in negotiations over where they are displayed and who benefits from them.
Opinion in Nigeria is divided on who should receive the bronzes, but many in Benin City feel that since the items were stolen before Nigeria even existed, it would be inappropriate to hand them over to its federal government.
Prince Aghatise Erediauwa, the oba’s younger brother and representative of the royal court in matters related to bronzes, said that the oba had always been clear in his plans: the bronzes would be displayed in museums in Nigeria and around the world, where they could act “as ambassadors” for their kingdom and culture. But the oba also made it clear that he wanted his property to be respected, the Prince said.
Victor Ehikhamenor, an artist who sits on the board of the trust developing the Adjaye-designed museum, the Edo Museum of West African Art, said the institution would likely change course to include more contemporary art if the bronzes ended up being primarily exhibited. elsewhere.
The West should not try to interfere. “Take care of your problems, and we’ll take care of ours,” he said.
Alex Marshall
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6759494, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-06-13 21:50:07
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