Beautiful, but really not ours, and tainted with the blood of Biafra – in the words of one critic – the Benin Bronzes, of which Britain holds a significant proportion, may have become the latest weapon in the culture wars.
In the long term, Bronze owners from Queen Elizabeth to the British Museum will likely bow to inevitable – and cede ownership to Nigeria.
For now, however, the battle for restitution has just begun. And for the moment, at least, “Global Britain” appears, in 2021, to be on the wrong side of history.
Even in a world whose gaze is skewed towards Western art, the Benin Bronzes enjoy huge recognition for their beauty and cultural importance.
The title refers to a group of brass and bronze sculptures, which include elaborately decorated cast plaques, commemorative heads, animal and human figures, items of royal regalia, and personal ornaments.
They were created from the 16th or possibly 15th century onwards in the West African Kingdom of Benin by artists working for the Oba (king) in Benin City. There are also works made from ivory, leather, coral and…
