#benin bronze

[bruthablack]

Head of Oba (king). Made in Nigeria. This is known as a Benin Bronze. Each statue is hand made and one of a kind. Made from bronze, 100% AUTHENTIC.  Click, "Contact Us" for more pictures!

https://www.allthingsconscious.com/product-page/bronze-oba

 Demensions: 5.5"x5"x9.25

[dailyhistoryposts]

Image description: A screenshot from the start of an NPR article.

A London museum agrees to return more than 70 pieces of looted Nigerian art

August 7, 2022 8:33 PM ET Emma Bowman

The Horniman Museum's collection of artifacts from the ancient kingdom of Benin includes 12 brass plaques, ceremonial objects and a key 'to the king's palace'.

Horniman Museums and Gardens

There is a picture of a Benin Bronze plaque of three men in feathered helmets holding hands. It is made of brass (not bronze) and is a dark brown.

Full NPR article here

[lucienballard]

Benin Middle Period Head

Edo peoples, court of Benin, Nigeria Bronze, iron 16th-17th century

[afrotumble]

Ife Bronze, Benin.

[blueboyluca]

A 16th century bronze plaque from Benin showing a Portuguese soldier out hunting with his dog. In the British Museum.

— Dogs Dogs Dogs Dogs by Paul Hamlyn (1962)

If you want to learn the history of how the Benin bronzes ended up in the British Museum I highly recommend the episode Blood Art from the ABC podcast Stuff the British Stole.

[ancientstuff]

In a Huge Win for Restitution Activists, a Scottish University Will Become the First Western Institution to Fully Repatriate a Benin Bronze

The University of Aberdeen in Scotland will repatriate a Benin Bronze in its museum collection to Nigeria.

This is such good news for Nigeria, and for repatriation efforts worldwide, I think. This isn’t the only story in the news about Benin bronzes going home, either. I’ll post another one next.

[dailyhistoryposts]

[image description: an article headline that says Arts; Britain can't decide whether it should send its looted treasures back to their rightful owners; Updated 31st October 2021]

This editorial discusses the looting and possible repatriation of historical artifacts from Benin in West Africa.

A few highlights:

"The British government believes that the museum is the right home for the bronzes as it makes them accessible to the largest number of people and, as a leading museum in one of the world's most global cities, has the best facilities for their upkeep. This is an argument that many find insulting and steeped in exactly the type of British imperial thinking that saw the artifacts looted in the first place. 'This logic suggests that Nigeria is a poorer country that in incapable of properly looking after the artifacts that colonialists stole, despite the fact there is a state-of-the-art museum awaiting them in Nigeria. It's a classic racist argument that Britain is a place of refinement and knows best,' said Kehinde Andrews, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University."

On the specific topic of the Benin Bronzes, a government spokesperson told CNN this week that museums operate 'independently of the government with decisions relating to collections care and management, including whether to make loans of any objects, taken by the trustees of each institution,' pointing out that the bronzes are a private collection rather than a part of the national collection. For now, the British Museum is prohibited from giving its artifacts back by British law, although it is reportedly discussing possible loans to the planned Edo Museum of West African Art in Nigeria.

Tl;dr: Everyone agrees these artifacts should be given back, but are unwilling to actually do it.

[lucienballard]

Edo Queen Mother

Benin Bronze

c1880