The Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of African Art in DC has removed its Benin bronzes from display and is planning to repatriate artifacts that were looted by the British in an 1897 raid on the royal palace, according to the museum's director
The Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC has removed itsfrom display and is planning to repatriate artifacts that were looted by the British in an 1897 raid on the royal palace, according to the museum's director, Ngaire Blankenberg.
"I can confirm that we have taken down the Benin bronzes we had on display and we are fully committed to repatriation," Blankenberg said."We cannot build for the future without making our best effort at healing the wounds of the past."The museum had 21 objects from the Kingdom of Benin on display earlier this year. Its online database lists 38 objects from Benin in the collection.
After the 1897 looting, artifacts from Benin's royal palace were sold off and scattered around the world; Benin objects are now held by more than 160 international museums, including several in the US. The University of California's Fowler Museum it plans talks with the Nigerian authorities on the future of 18 objects in its collection from the Kingdom of Benin.to Nigeria: the University of Aberdeen handed over the bronze head of an"oba," or king, and Jesus College Cambridge returned a bronze sculpture of a cockerel.
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