Will Germany be the first country to return to Nigeria bronzes from Benin, world-famous works of art? The question arises after the latest statements. This painful legacy of colonial times has given rise to many debates, especially related to the forthcoming opening of a Berlin Museum.
These bronzes are among the most famous African works of art. These brass busts and sculptures were made between the 16th and 18th centuries and decorated the kingdom within the kingdom Benign in what is today southwestern oil Nigeria.
During Britain’s invasion of the region in the late 19th century, the king was forced into exile, his palace lit up and confiscated works. 3,000 to 5,000 items were auctioned in London. A thousand of them were bought off Germany. Almost half are now in Berlin, and the rest are distributed in about 20 German cities. If the acquisition of these works was legal, the legitimacy of these collections is questioned. Nigeria has tried in vain to get its refund since its independence.
These bronzes will be exhibited in a new Berlin Museum. The Humboldt Forum, a reconstruction of the Prussian royal palace in the heart of Berlin, will house non-European artefacts from the city’s museums.
The German capital, after the British Museum in London, has the most important collection bronzes from Benin. Suffice it to say that it is a leading attraction for the Humboldt Forum, whose wing houses like these works will open at the beginning of the school year. The two rooms must also present the history of the Kingdom of Benin, its conquest of the British and the controversial origin of works of art.
Will the very last debates lead to a restoration of the Benin bronzes? In any case, a new comment from the director of the Humboldt Forum hit the headlines when he said that a decision would be made by September at the latest on the return of the bronzes from Benin.
Construction of a museum in Nigeria 2024
The French historian Bénédicte Savoy, the most famous critic of the Humboldt Forum, whom she had compared to Chernobyl, spoke in the wake of “a fall of the cultural wall”. An official at the new museum was already discussing how to fill the gaps in the exhibition that the absence of these works would mean.
But things are a little more complicated because the Humboldt forum does not decide. The bronzes lie in the bracket on the basis of the Prussian heritage which has always been reluctant to restitution. The board is talking about an alternative.
But the Foreign Ministry is moving forward. A senior official recently visited Nigeria to discuss a possible representation. A museum built 2024 in Benin City. For Minister Heiko Maas, “a sincere approach to colonial history also includes the issue of restoring works of art”.
A positive decision would put other German museums with Benin bronzes under pressure like other foreign facilities.
► Listening (again): Accents d’Europe – Restoration of works of art: Africa at the forefront
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