Benin Bronzes
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Who?
- The Benin Bronzes originally belonged to the Kingdom of Benin in West Africa (now known as Nigeria)
- British forces pillaged Benin in the late 1890s, looting the shrines and the palace of religious items and monuments, a lot of which were made of bronze like traditional West African monuments
- These stolen monuments were spread through Britain and Germany, whether in private collections, or within the ownership of the British and German museums.
- The British wanted to expand their power in the African region, however, Benin was unwilling, which lead to the British capturing Benin violently,
- Along with pillaging villages, Benin chiefs were executed and the Oba (king) was sent into exile.
- All of these actions were justified as necessary military action against a "barbarous" kingdom
- The Benin Bronzes are bronze statues depicting animal/human heads as well as royal commemoration
- Although there were not any laws specifically stating against the pillage and the items stolen from the pillage, the morals of the capture were questioned even back then.
- They were created to honor past ancestral leaders in Benin
- The British had pillaged Benin for the sake of expanding, but also as retaliation to the attack the Oba had made against a British delegation the previous month
- The Benin Bronzes were originally created in Benin (Nigeria)
- Bronze statues and monuments were extremely common in West African history, especially in shrines and palaces
- When the British were colonising Africa, they met resistance in Benin. In the resulting conflict, the British looted Benin and pillaged over 900 artifacts
- The Benin Bronzes were taken from Benin during a military mission in 1897
- The artifacts now reside in the British museum
- Some of the artefacts were given to the British Museum later that year, with the other pieces staying in private collections and going to other European museums.
- Eventually, most of the artefacts were given to the British Museum