One hundred and twenty-five years after the plunder of Benin City, the movement to return the Benin Bronzes is finally gaining momentum. On Tuesday 11 October 2022, the USA returned 31 looted artifacts to Nigeria known as the Benin Bronzes, the BBC reported. The Horniman Museum in London is still expected to return 72 objects to the Nigerian government as it promised, it is reported, following a request by Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments in January 2022.
The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand bronze sculptures and plaques created by artists of the Edo people of West Africa. Whilst some of the sculptures date to the 13th century, the “golden ages” of metalworking in the region lie in the reigns of Esigie in around 1550 and Eresoyen in 1735–50. These golden ages of craftsmanship were funded in part by the wealth gained by Benin through its participation in the Transatlantic slave trade in which enslaved people and ivory were traded for copper and brass.
The Benin Bronzes decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, which is now Edo state in modern-day Nigeria. In addition to retaining its independence during the scramble for Africa, the Kingdom of Benin had exercised a monopoly over trade which the British Royal Niger Company found irksome as it curtailed their trade and profits. In addition, the region was also coveted by an influential group of investors due to its rich natural resources such as palm oil, ivory and potential rubber resources.
The pillaging of Benin began with the Obi of Benin breaching a trade agreement with the British merchants and the killing of a British expedition that was sent to negotiate terms of trade. In what was called Benin Punitive Expedition carried out on 9th February 1897, expedition force of approximately 1200 men led by Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson had captured Benin city by February 18th. After the capture of Benin city, houses, sacred sites, ceremonial buildings and palaces of many high-ranking chiefs were looted and many buildings were burned down and the Obi was exiled with two of his eighty wives to Calabar in another part of Nigeria. His son, grandson and great-grandson preserved their title and status as traditional rulers in modern-day Nigeria.
After the fall of Benin city over 2500 religious artifacts, visual history, and artworks were sent back to Britain, including over a thousand metal plaques and sculptures which are now collectively known as the Benin Bronzes. About 40% of the art was accessioned to the British Museum, other works were given to individual members of the armed forces as spoils of war, and the remainder was sold at auction from May 1897 onwards in order to cover the costs of the expedition. Most of the items sold at auction were bought by museums, mainly in Germany.
