Despite the British Museum’s active participation in work towards restitution, the current display and captioning fail to be forthright or responsible.
Benin bronzes
The Met Will Repatriate Two Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
Critics note that the Met has failed to address the hundreds of other works from Benin that remain in its collection.
How a New Nigerian Museum Can Help Repatriate the Benin Bronzes
Nigeria’s business leaders will have to give generously; politicians will have to put rivalries aside; and contemporary artists will have to embrace the project.
Germany Announces Plan to Return Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
The Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City is being considered as a future home for the returned artifacts.
Path Toward Restitution of Benin Bronzes Advances in Germany and UK
Thousands of objects were looted from present-day Nigeria by British troops in a punitive mission in 1897.
Dan Hicks on the Benin Bronzes and Ultraviolence of World Culture Museums
“The Brutish Museums” considers the histories of cruelty that western museums perpetuate when they do not endeavor to return looted colonial artifacts.
After Years of Repatriation Debates, France’s Benin Restitution Bill Approved
Meanwhile, a new report commissioned by the Dutch culture minister suggests the return of “any cultural objects looted in former Dutch colonies if the source country so requests.”
Activists Stand Trial for Protest in French Museum Over Plundered Artifacts
Members of a Pan-African group stood trial in Paris on charges of attempted theft for an action staged at the city’s Quai Branly Museum.