[ad_1]
The Smithsonian Institution, one of the world’s largest cultural organizations, said Tuesday it plans to return most of its Benin Bronzes collection to Nigeria.
The Smithsonian has a collection of 39 Benin Bronzes, a name used to cover a variety of artifacts such as brass plates, carved elephant tusks, ivory leopard statues, and wooden heads. Many were stolen from what is now Nigeria during the British Army’s raid on the ancient Kingdom of Benin in 1897.
Smithsonian spokesperson Linda St. Thomas said most of the 39 pieces will be returned. However, he said it was not clear exactly how many of the bronzes were linked to the 1897 raid, and it was possible that some of the pieces in the museum’s collection had different ownership histories.
The announcement was made by Ngaire Blankenberg, president of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, removes Benin Bronzes, more formally known as Benin Kingdom Court Style artworks in the museum.
Officials warned that the Smithsonian Board of Trustees must approve the removal of any objects from access before they are posted.
The Smithsonian’s plans were first Washington post.
“The wonderful thing about this type of work is about a relationship, not a transaction,” said Kevin Gover, the Smithsonian’s undersecretary of museums and culture, highlighting the collaboration between the institution and the Nigerian government.
Gover said the Benin Bronzes case is “the most visible example of the kinds of situations we should consider returning these items.”
The Smithsonian has a legal right to own items that officials say have come into the Smithsonian’s collection, mostly through donations over many years. He plans to relinquish ownership of the items and ship the pieces to Nigeria, to be owned by the Smithsonian.
Gover said at least some of the artwork could eventually be displayed in a museum in Benin City. However, St. Some of the work is likely to return or remain in Washington on a long-term loan from Nigeria, Thomas said.
The return of the artworks is part of a broader agreement between the Nigerian National Museums and Monuments Commission and the Smithsonian. According to the agreement, St. Thomas said cultural institutions will share the exhibits and work together on educational programs in Nigeria.
The Nigerian National Museums Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The return of the bronzes is also the first planned return, according to Smithsonian officials. ethical return policy. For nearly a year, a working group has been trying to reassess how the Smithsonian thinks about which artworks should and should not be in its collections, officials said. An updated collections policy is expected to be released in April.
“The museum space is moving in that direction,” said Gover, “considering our responsibilities for these collections as well as our responsibilities to the communities in which they originated.”
“For a long time, we were completely comfortable that if we had legal ownership of an object, we certainly had the right to keep it and care for it,” he said. But now, he added, “we go beyond legal title, and although we know under what circumstances it comes into our property, should we have it?” we ask.
Since the 1897 raid, thousands of pieces have been scattered in museums and private collections around the world. Nigeria’s artists, historians, activists and nobles have for decades take back parts.
But at times there has been resistance from institutions that have insisted in various ways that they are not authorized to return works of art or that it is in the interests of the broad masses to preserve their global collections.
The momentum to return the Benin Bronzes has accelerated in recent years as talk about the legacy of racism and colonialism has increased.
last April, Germany said would return a “significant” number of Benin Bronzes. Two months later, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced He said he would return two brass plates from his collection and mediated the return of a third object offered for sale to the museum.
Alex Marshall and Sarah Bahr contributed to the reporting.
[ad_2]
Source link