The Benin Bronzes: Why Repatriation Matters

The Benin bronzes, mired in controversy for more than a century, have been displayed in museums worldwide. I'm talking about thousands of treasures stolen from the Kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria by British troops during colonial times. Since the 1930s, Africans have campaigned for these artworks to be returned. For decades, some of those Benin bronzes were on display right here in Washington at the Smithsonian's National Museum for African Art. The Smithsonian has now joined European museums in repatriating some of the looted artifacts from their collections. I visited the museum to find out if their repatriation could change the way African art is acquired and exhibited in future. The Smithsonian Institution is one of the biggest cultural organizations in the world. The repatriation of the Benin bronzes is part of the institution's so-called new ethical returns policy. Nyree Blankenberg is the director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. I asked her how stolen African art can end up in museums like hers in the first place. The process for how objects end up in a museum vary depending on the museum. Because the Americans didn't have a colonial presence at the time in the U.S., we were not a part of the process of removal per se. For the Benin bronzes, it was 1897, it was a British expedition, that's quite clear. But what often happens is things that are removed, they make their way into the market, the art market, and then they are acquired through various people. And so through collectors, through traders, through diplomats, through missionaries, etc. And then often those things are gifted to a museum or donated to a museum. So our bronzes came from many different roots. They were all gifted to us, some were inherited from other collections. And so they made their way into our collection and at different times, since the 70s and the 80s, I think even as early as the 90s, and they found themselves in our collection. So can you give us an idea of what has been returned? What still needs to be returned? And what won't physically be returned to Nigeria in this case? I think the really important thing about the restitution issue is the transfer of ownership. Because what that does is that changes who has the power to decide what happens to these works. And the people who decide may not always want them back, per se, but it's up to them. So in this particular case, we physically have returned 22 of the 29, and we've kept 27 on long-term loan, the terms of which have been dictated by our partners in Nigeria who own the work. We've also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian Commission of Museums and Monuments, and we're busy right now working with the Benin Museum on a collaborative exhibition that will have the Benin Bronzes in dialogue with contemporary works, contemporary design in Nigeria and here. So it's definitely not the last time people will see the work here, but the terms through which we discuss these become more like other works of art. I think people get alarmed about restitution as this idea that someone's gain is someone's loss, and that's not always the case. I mean, museums everywhere have loan objects. There's an exchange of loan works of art. Most big temporary exhibitions have one or two works of art on loan in it. They're not always from someone's permanent collection. So I think the idea of transfer of ownership is really about the power to decide. It doesn't necessarily mean that no one, the members of the public in DC, are never going to be able to see them again. That's not true. The terms have changed. And that is another question that I had. How do you feel about the fact that some of these artifacts will no longer be here? Is that bittersweet? Do you feel like it is a loss? No, I feel great. I think that the work that we have here unethically or through violent conquest is unhappy, quite frankly. And I don't think it feels good. I don't think it's spiritually good to have stolen work or work that is only for ritualistic purposes or sacred work taken out of context and put into a situation where it doesn't belong. And so I'm absolutely happy about it. Listen, the Benin Bronzes are exquisite works of art. And I'm very happy about this partnership and that we are continuing to make sure that they're seen by many people. But it's also super important that local people can see the masterpieces that have come from African cultures. I don't need to have a bunch of stolen loot or unethically procured things in my museum to be a legitimate place. I would rather create a space that Africans feel they belong, who don't feel stressed about coming here because they see evidence of our cultures as Africans taken out of context, displayed in ways that are not meant to be, that go against the context or the intent of their creators. That to me is really stressful. And it's not right. And for me, that is a wrong, a historical wrong that is far more important to rectify. On these walls, visitors can see firsthand the writing of a wrong. 130 years in the making. Empty frames illustrate how many Africans may have felt about their heritage for so long. An emptiness that is only now being restored. There have been calls for decades now, if not longer, for these items to be repatriated or for restitution to happen. What took the Smithsonian so long? Why now? Well, I mean, it's hard for me to say. I can't say with certainty that the request hasn't been made until now. I know that we have certainly had the bronzes for many years, and we've worked very closely with the Royal Palace in Benin City of Edo State for many, many years. And so it's not that we've been hiding that they're here. You can see here, we've always acknowledged the circumstances under which they were removed. I think that perhaps it's a change in leadership. The Ethical Returns and Shared Stewardship Working Group was something that Secretary Lonnie Bunch and Undersecretary Kevin Gover instituted before I came to the museum. So that was already underway. And I'm not sure kind of why or when, but I'm pretty sure it probably had something to do with when they were appointed as leaders. Kevin Gover is a former director of the National Museum of the American Indian. And so, of course, issues of repatriation and restitutions are in the founding DNA of that museum. And Lonnie Bunch is the founding director of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. And so definitely in his consciousness, the importance of ethical behavior for museums, particularly for African diasporic people, is front of mind. And then I joined in July. And as a South African myself, it's obviously a critical issue for me personally. And so I think it was really a confluence of perhaps leadership. And also, you know, I suppose growing consciousness in the museum community. I feel nervous saying that because I also don't want to dismiss the efforts that have been made through African governments and states and activists for decades around this issue. So I don't want to pretend that this is suddenly a new issue when it's not. People seem to be listening a little bit more now. How does this process, though, affect what happens in future now, the way art is acquired, the way it is preserved, and the way it is exhibited? Will we see a change in that? I hope so. I hope so. I don't think necessarily to be sort of, I'm not naive about the way the world works. You know, for us, the restitution was something we had to do in order to do what we really need to do, which is to become a 21st century global African art museum and a place for belonging and regeneration and resilience and joy for African peoples everywhere. And we can't do that when we have things that make people upset and when the work is upset itself. We can't do that. Our focus definitely is on the present and on the future and to really moving forward to have more of a presence on the continent, a more intentional relationship with peoples from the really recognizing the realities of the future, which is, I mean, we all say that Africa is the future. And that's, you know, in the abstract, it's true. Demographically, that's true. For us, it's really important that that become true on the day-to-day. And so that African peoples, whether they're creators or visitors, feel that this is a space that holds them and that's for them.