Art History

Restitution of the Benin Bronzes

One hundred and twenty-five years after the plunder of Benin City, the movement to return the Benin Bronzes is finally gaining momentum

Horn Player, 1550–1680. Nigeria, Court of Benin, Edo peoples. Brass, 62.9 x 29.2 x 17.2 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1972 (1978.412.310) [open access image]

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.