Yet another one! Isn’t it odd that there seems to be an avalanche of “proposals” to return looted artifacts? Is it real? Are these museums really going to relinquish these artifacts? or is it just a publicity stunt? Excerpts below are from an article on the BBC website. The article dates from April, but it is still worth mentioning. Enjoy!

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A London museum will consider [seriously?] returning artefacts obtained by “colonial violence” – including Benin Bronzes – to their countries of origin.

Collections at the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill include plaques, figures and ceremonial items taken from the Kingdom of Benin in 1897 [Benin City: the Majestic City the British burnt to the ground].

The decision follows a consultation with London’s Nigerian community.

There has also been mounting political pressure for the return of objects taken in the 19th Century.

Since 2017, the Benin Dialogue Group, which brings together the current Oba (state leader of Edo), the Nigerian government and museums across Europe, has been working on a plan for some Benin Bronzes to return to Nigeria. If returned, Nigeria plans to house repatriated bronzes in the Edo Museum of West African Art set to open in 2025.

Campaign group Topple the Racists recently added the Horniman to an interactive map detailing the statues in the UK that have links to colonialism.

The Horniman’s collection includes 15 Benin Bronze plaques depicting Obas (kings) and legendary figures, a brass cockerel called an Ebon which would be placed on the altar of a dead Lyoba (queen mother), and a ceremonial paddle called an Ovbevbe used by priests to ward off evil.

A brass bell, typical of those worn around the necks of Benin’s warriors, is also in the collection, along with an ivory staff of office.