Benin Bronzes
Some contemporary scholars, such as Dan Hicks, argue that the expedition was part of a broader series of premeditated attacks, framed as retaliatory or punitive, to further European imperialistic and economic interests in Africa.
[17] The Benin bronze sculpture tradition is thought to have derived from or been influenced by that of the older nearby Kingdom of Ife in southwest Nigeria.
It is divided into many magnificent palaces, houses, and apartments of the courtiers, and comprises beautiful and long square galleries...resting on wooden pillars, from top to bottom covered with cast copper, on which are engraved the pictures of their war exploits and battles, and are kept very clean."
The Kingdom of Benin, which occupied southern parts of present-day Nigeria between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries, was rich in sculptures of diverse materials, such as iron, bronze, wood, ivory and terra cotta.
The Oba's palace in Benin City, the site of production for the royal ancestral altars, also was the site for an elaborate court ceremonial life in which the Oba of Benin, his warriors, chiefs and titleholders, priests, members of the palace societies and their constituent guilds, foreign merchants and mercenaries, and numerous retainers and attendants all took part.
The palace, a vast sprawling agglomeration of buildings and courtyards, was the setting for hundreds of rectangular brass plaques whose relief images portray the persons and events that animated the court.
[28] As a courtly art, their principal objective was to glorify the Oba, the divine king, and the history of his imperial power or to honour the Iyoba of Benin (the queen mother).
These kings made possible the creation of the splendid Benin bronzes; thus, the royal courts contributed substantially to the development of sub-Saharan art.
In 1897, the vice consul general James Robert Phillips, of the Niger Coast Protectorate, together with six other British officials, two businessmen, translators, and 215 porters, set off toward Benin from the small port of Sapele, Nigeria,[7] The true intention of the visit is disputed.
[35][36] Although they had given word of their intended visit, they were later informed that their journey must be delayed, because no foreigner could enter the city while rituals were being conducted;[37][38] however, the travellers ignored the warning and continued on their expedition.
[7][37] News of the incident reached London eight days later and a naval punitive expedition was organized immediately,[7][37][39] which was to be directed by Admiral Harry Rawson.
According to the official account of this event written by the British, the attack was warranted because the local people had ambushed a peaceful mission, and because the expedition liberated the population from a reign of terror.
[37][40] A 2020 book suggests that; "since the 1960s, historians have increasingly understood the expedition to depose Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (Overami) who had acceded to the throne in 1888, not as a retaliation, but to have been dictated by policy for a long time.
In 1910, German researcher Leo Frobenius carried out an expedition to Africa with the aim of collecting works of African art for museums in his country.
[59][60] Also in April 2021, the Church of England promised to return two Benin bronzes that were given as gifts to the then Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie almost 40 years ago.
[needs update] In the same month, the Horniman Museum in South London said it was considering legal advice in terms of repatriation and restitution of 49 works from Benin City including 15 brass plaques, weapons and jewellery in its possession.
In January 2022, the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle, England, agreed to return a Benin Bronze stave to Nigeria.
The physical return of each item will be negotiated between the German museums and the Nigerian government and some of the objects could remain in display in Germany under custody agreements.
Hermann Parzinger, the head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, an authority that oversees many of Berlin's museums, said a “representative collection of objects” would remain in the German capital on a long-term loan.
[80][81] On 28 November 2022, the Horniman Museum in London held an official ceremony, unconditionally transferring ownership of its Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria.
European journalists noted that the Museum of West African Art, for whose construction Germany had pledged 4 million Euros, would most likely remain empty.
This new online platform allows visitors to learn about the specifications, location and provenance of more than 5,000 African artifacts, including maps, high-resolution images, and the title of the works in English and Edo languages.
[92] Another important aspect of the works is their exclusivity: property was reserved only for certain social classes, reflecting the strict hierarchical structure of society in the Kingdom of Benin.
In the annual festivals to reinforce the mystical power of the Oba, the king made ritual offerings in these sanctuaries, which were considered essential for the continuation of his reign.
The stylistic variation of these bronze heads is such an important characteristic of Beninese art that it constitutes the primary scientific basis for establishing a chronology.
Another recurring motif is the royal triad: the Oba in the centre, flanked by two assistants, highlighting the support of those who the king trusted in order to govern.
[30] According to some sources, the Benin artists may have been inspired by items brought during the arrival of the Portuguese, including European illuminated books, small ivory caskets with carved lids from India, and Indian miniature paintings.
Artists working in bronze were organized into a type of guild under royal decree and lived in a special area of the palace under the direct control of the Oba.
[103] These Benin artisans refined that technique until they were able to cast plaques only an eighth-of-an-inch (3 mm) thick, surpassing the art as practiced by Renaissance masters in Europe.
[92][104] One sixteenth-century bronze, depicting the Oba with Europeans, was featured in A History of the World in 100 Objects, a series of radio programmes that started in 2010 as a collaboration between the BBC and the British Museum; it was also published as a book.
