WHAT FUTURE FOR BENIN’S BRONZES?

Proponents of repatriation of the remarkable sculptures have shown scant regard to Nigeria’s endemic corruption and the fate of bronzes already sent back to Africa

Mike Wells

AMERICAN CAMPAIGNERS OF THE Restitution Study Group have denounced as “blood metal” a collection of Benin bronzes the Smithsonian is in the process of sending back to Nigeria. The RSG, representing descendants of West African slaves, believes the move ignores their own legitimate claims. “Black people,” it says, “do not support enriching the heirs of slave traders just because they [too] are black.” From 1946 to 1957 the British government purchased so-called Benin “bronzes” from the British Museum (described as duplicates) and at London auctions to give to museums in Lagos and Benin City. These were given to Nigeria at the new nation’s independence in 1960. Brass rather than bronze, Benin’s oldest artworks are fine examples of lost-wax casting, a skill largely lost in Nigeria today. Many were made by…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2023

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