New York organization: NGO against the return of all Benin bronzes

Museums around the world want to return the Benin bronzes to Nigeria. But a New York organization of descendants of West African slaves wants to prevent a widespread return of looted art.

It was a trip that also attracted a lot of international attention. In the week before Christmas, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth flew to Nigeria. In the hold of the government plane: 20 precious so-called Benin bronzes from various German museums.

For almost ten years, there had been discussions about the return of the valuable secular works of art. Now the Federal Foreign Minister has announced:

NGO: The Kingdom of Benin benefited from the slave trade

But the New York Restitution Study Group has doubts about that. Non-profit organization of descendants of West African slaves refuses general return of the Benin bronzes, stolen by British troops from the royal palace in Benin in 1897 as war booty and then ended up in museums around the world – more than 1000 of them also in Germany.

The transatlantic slave trade existed long before colonialism, says Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, director of the Restitution Study Group. The Kingdom of Benin had been involved for 300 years. European slave traders would pay Benin in exchange for people with “manillas”, metal bracelets. These were then melted down and made into the Benin bronzes.

These are the bronzes of the colonial era

According to his account, the Benin bronzes from the 16th to the 19th century were mostly made with the “metallic blood” of slave traders. He therefore requests that the artworks be examined very carefully before they are returned to Nigeria.

In Farmer-Paellmann’s view, Nigerian rulers are, especially those in Edo State, whom she sharply chides:

The location of the missing bronzes needs to be clarified

Another accusation: the bronzes were used in human sacrifice rituals. A practice that ended only after the British punitive expedition of 1897.

And the group wants to prevent the transfer of the controversial Benin bronzes to Nigeria for another reason: “We know the relics are disappearing.” Since Nigeria’s independence, many bronzes have been returned, but they are not in the museums where they should be. He assumes that 150 bronzes are missing from the National Museum of Benin alone: ​​”And we fear that the new ones that are now being returned will also disappear. It is therefore important that all nations ask themselves questions about where the bronzes are before they are returned”.

Application and lawsuit against the return of further art treasures

With a lawsuit against the Museum of African Art in Washington, the “Restitution Study Group” now wants to prevent the 20 Benin bronzes that were brought from the museum to Nigeria. In England, the group has launched a petition to stop returns from the British Museum in London, which holds the largest number of Benin bronzes in the world.

There is little research into the connection between the slave trade and the bronzes: “It’s a part of history that’s completely ignored. Now we want it to be explored around the world.”