According to Evelien Campfens, researcher in the field of culture and heritage law at Leiden University, the British step to actually give back art is an exciting one in particular. “The British Museum and the British government are taking a very different course from the University of Cambridge. They want to explain better how the Benin Bronzes ended up in Britain, but not return them. Now that Cambridge is doing that with the rooster and other museums have announced similar steps, increasing the pressure on the British Museum.”
There are also Benin Bronzes in the Netherlands. The Museum of World Cultures, which includes the National Museum of Ethnology and the Africa Museum, examined its own collection and counted 114. It is not clear what will happen with it. In January, outgoing minister Ingrid van Engelshoven (Culture, D66) sent a plan to the House of Representatives about returning looted art. The next cabinet has to decide on that.
‘Do proactive research and draw up rules’
According to Campfens, the Netherlands can learn something from the step taken today in Cambridge. “As a museum, do proactive research into the provenance of your collection”, is her appeal. “Don’t wait for a country to ask for something, but just know what you have available.”
Campfens also argues in favor of establishing clear legal rules, so that it is clear when a work of art must be returned and when not. “And above all, do it together. The fact that Jesus College in Cambridge was able and willing to return the bronze rooster to a Nigerian delegation today is because both parties have worked together for years on an equal footing.”
Abba Isa Tijani, the head of the Nigerian Museums and Monuments Commission, responded with joy and pride at the ceremony in Cambridge. “We want to show the Nigerians what is theirs. So that they can connect with a piece of their history that has been so far away for so long. It is an honor to be a part of this ceremony where we did the right thing .”
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