Vem tillhör föremålen? Konstskatter från kungariket Benin, Med världen i kappsäcken 11, Benin

The indifference of the West
The Egyptians have been asking for the return of
Nefertiti but the Germans think the old Egyptian
lady really belongs to Berlin and in any case is too
weak to travel. The Nigerians have asked for the
Benin bronzes but few are reacting and some even
pretend they have never heard of such a request.
Dr Kwame Opoku, www.modernGhana.com
The mission of museums
In my view, the argument for returning the contents
of museums to their countries of origin is a rejection,
pure ands simple, of the museum´s calling, which
is to show the "Other" - which means, by definition:
outside of its original environment. Art objects
are also ambassadors for their culture, and in that
capacity they’re an element in the dialogue between
peoples.
Stéphan Martin,
President of the Museum of Quai Branly
African objects belong in Africa
Africa is the appropriate place to study and understand
African art and artefacts and it would also
generate much needed income from tourism and
scholarship if these items were returned.
Darshana Soni, African Repatriation Movement
To whom do the objects really belong?
It would be a good thing if they were to be returned,
but they would have to be returned to the right
people, not just the powerful elite.
Dr Hélène Neveu, Oxford University

Benin art is of global interest
If these objects are distributed in multiple places,
they will be seen by more people. They promote the
principle of inquiry and tolerance, and they distribute
the risk of them.
James Cuno, President of the Art Institute,
Chicago
International Council of Museums (ICOM)
about the return of cultural property
Museums should be prepared to initiate dialogues
for the return of cultural property to a country or
people of origin . . . in preference to action at
a governmental or political level.
From ICOM:s "Code of Ethics" (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010)

Queen Mother Idia
The British Museum in London has a 16th-century
ivory mask representing Queen Mother Idia.
Another four such classical Idia masks exist
in other museums around the world.
In Nigeria, many people are of the opinion
that these masks are a national cultural heritage
and that they ought to be returned.
Whose objects?
Kings, art dealers, politicians, museum directors
. . . During the course of time an originally
sacred art has been transformed into booty,
commodity, prestige and investment object.
As museum objects the art works are withdrawn
from the market. If the objects were now to
leave their climate- and theft-proof showcases
to be repatriated, it is not certain whether the
receiver would be the court of Benin or the nation
to which it now belongs, Nigeria.
Six interviews
with Obehi Iziduh, Florence Aibueku, Ricky
Komolafe, Eugene Odiye, Rose Aiwe Bergström
och Adekunle Adeyemi.
Map of Benin
The kingdom of Benin was invaded in 1897 and
became part of the British protectorate which
today is Nigeria.
The kingdom of Benin is not to be confused with
the country of Benin, formerly called Dahomey.
Benin City with its 1.5 million inhabitants is today
the seat of the provincial government of Edo,
one of Nigeria´s federal states.
The history of Africa comprises well-organized
realms, long-distance trade and sophisticated art.
When the Benin pieces came to Europe they
caused a great sensation. Before 1897 the Europeans
did not know much about the kingdom of
Benin. (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010)

Voices in the ongoing debate concerning repatriation of Benin art treasures
The Oba´s plea
It is our prayer that the people and the government
of Austria will show humaneness and magnanimity
and return to us some of these objects which found
their way to your country.
Omo N´Oba Erediauwa,
from exhibition catalogue, Vienna, 2007

International museum cooperation
The British Museum is working with overseas museums
and institutions - including those in Nigeria
- in a way in which the collections held in trust at
the British Museum can be shared worldwide in the
context of the world museum. It is through such
partnerships that we believe we are best able to
promote public understanding of Africa´s culture
and history worldwide.
Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum
The essence of the art
It’s like taking the spirit out of something. So they
have taken that out, so it´s like taking the centre,
the core out of something. If you bring it back, then
it forms a whole.
Princess Theresa Erediauwa, Benin Kingdom
Not only art
The return of any single Benin artefact is of great
significance as the object returns to the altar of
our ancestors where they religiously, culturally and
historically belong.
West African Museums Programme,
Lagos, Nigeria
Benin art has a mission also outside Benin
The museums in Nigeria, including the one in Benin
itself, do now have one of the world´s finest
representations
of this great culture and our collections
would not add significantly to this . . . These artefacts
have an important role to play in the public
sector by informing over three million visitors here
about the culture of Benin and, it has to be said,
the history of British Imperialism.
Julian Spalding, Director of Glasgow Museums (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010)

The kingdom of Benin
The works of bronze and ivory from the West
African kingdom of Benin are among the bestknown
art pieces in the world.
The bronze plaques used to embellish the walls
and rows of pillars in the palaces. The sculptures
of bronze and ivory were placed on royal altars
which spiritually linked the ruling Oba (King)
with his predecessors.
It is not known how the kingdom of Benin
started, but in the 15th century a powerful state
had been established which exchanged ambassadors
with Portugal. Slaves, pepper, ivory, textiles
and palm oil were sold to Portugal, Holland,
France and Britain in exchange for firearms and
other things. The Benin kingdom had its greatest
influence in the 18th century.
When slave trade was abolished in 1806 the
role of the kingdom of Benin diminished. Britain
strengthened its grip on the market.
A sacred kingdom
His Royal Highness, Oba Erediauwa ascended
the throne on 29 March 1979. He is the 38th
Oba in a dynasty that traces its origin back to the
13th century.
The Oba is not only a political leader. He is also
a spiritual guarantee of the well-being of Benin
society. That the Oba has divine strains might be
less acknowledged today but most people agree
that his power is great.
Even today the court ceremonies are important
events that attract many participants. Tradition is
strong but not static. (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010)

Bronze and brass
Bronze casting used to be done exclusively for
the needs of the court. Commemorative bronze
heads were placed on altars in the royal palaces.
Other prominent persons placed commemorative
heads of wood on their altars.
Relief plaques in bronze tell about life at court
and about specific historic events. The permanent
bronze was of course a suitable material for
chronicles which mediate historic memory.
The Benin bronzes are not always bronzes in a
technical sense, however. Often zinc has been
used instead of bronze in the alloy with copper.
In these cases the material is brass.
Ivory
The Oba was in control of the ivory trade.
Carved ivory tusks have been placed on the royal
altars ever since the mid-15th century.
The ivory tusks serve as a link between everyday
life and the world of the ancestors, and sacred
realities. At the same time they are also chron-icles
that tell about the events during the reign
of a certain Oba.
Coral
During ceremonies the Oba is dressed in coral
regalia. High-ranking palace chiefs wear coral
necklaces and bracelets.
Coral was considered to have sacred power.
Legend has it that Oba Ewuare, who reigned
in the middle of the 13th century, captured the
coral from the palace of the sea god Olokun.
Since then the Oba is seen as the earthly equivalent
of the sea god, and coral a symbol of the
wealth that was brought to the kingdom from
the sea.
The invasion of 1897
The British saw Benin as an obstacle to their
efforts to widen their territory. In 1897 they
invaded Benin and exiled the Oba Ovoranmwen.
The British troops devastated the palaces and
took artworks of bronze and ivory to London
where they were sold to private collectors and
museums.
In 1914 the successor to the throne was allowed
to return to Benin and was installed as the new
Oba. The Palace was erected again but on a
smaller scale.
Pictures from 1660, 1897, and 1936 are shown.
The first picture of Benin
We do not know how faithfully this 17th-century
engraving depicts Benin City as it looked four
hundred years ago. The engraving was created
from what travellers had reported.
Here the palace area is shown, including three
high turrets surmounted by big ibis birds cast in
bronze. Around the city there was a long rampart,
and outside that a deep moat.
The dwelling houses were spacious. The palaces
of the Oba and the nobles had colonnades and
large courtyards. In the city there were wide
avenues and vast open areas where troops
could be lined up before battle.
Olfert Daper: Naukerige Beschrijvinge der Africaensche
gewesten. Amsterdam 1668
The collection of the Stockholm
Museum of Ethnography
In the main the collection came into being in
early 20th century through donations from private
persons. It comprises 43 objects.
The principal donor, Hans Meyer in Leipzig, gave
thirty-one objects in the hope of receiving in exchange
something which was then much desired,
a Swedish royal order. (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010)

Benin collections in the world
At least 4000 objects were removed from the
Benin palaces in 1897 and sold.
The biggest collection is today in Nigeria. Since
the end of the 1940s, it has been possible,
through repurchases and donations, to enlarge it
little by little. Some objects were also rescued
before the devastation.
Major collections are today to be found at,
among others, the British Museum, the ethnographic
museums in Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg and
Oxford, at the Field Museum of Chicago and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Benin City today
The palace in Benin is a cultural centre where
history and ceremonies are kept alive.
The city’s handicraft is extensive. In 1914 the
Oba revoked the rule that art should be reserved
for the court. Today the buyers are also
tourists and Nigerians who wish to have memorial
objects from their history.
Tradition is important in Benin City. It attracts
many tourists and brings in income.
Outside the palaces artisans of different guilds
work with handicrafts such as bronze casting,
ivory work, forging, weaving and leather work
as well as societies of priests, bodyguards, dancers,
acrobats, drummers, etc.
A prestigious coiffure
Okao Aiwerioghene is the wife of a senior town
chief in Benin. Her prominence entitles
her to
wear multiple strands of red beads and an elaborate
coiffure decked with beads and ornaments.
Another image of the royal exile in 1897
In this sculpture, the Oba appears in full coral
regalia seated at the centre of a canoe, accompanied
by his two wives, a chief and British soldiers.
The sculpture was created to the centenary of
the British invasion. In Benin today, this image
is preferred to the humiliating situation shown
in the classic photo from 1897.
Omodamwen workshop
Photo: Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna
The motif also appears among tourist art pieces. (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010)