Smithsonian’s Museum of African Art Begins Process to Repatriate Its Benin Bronzes

Two Benin Bronzes currently in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art. From left: Commemorative head of a king, Edo artist, 18th century; Plaque, Edo artist, mid-16th to 17th century. Photo: Franko Khoury/National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn to the Smithsonian Institution (2). Article by Maximilíano Durón. ARTnews – November 5, 2021.

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., said it has removed Benin Bronzes in its collection from view and plans to begin the process to repatriate them. In total, the museum holds 42 objects from the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Nigeria. The museum is currently conducting research into the provenance of its Benin Bronzes but confirmed that 16 of them were found to have been looted as part of a 1897 raid by British troops. […]

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Related articles:

The Smithsonian’s Plan to Return the Benin Bronzes Comes After Years of Relationship Building – Smithsonian Magazine

How the looted Benin Bronzes are symbolic of colonial cultural erasure – The National News

Smithsonian Announces Landmark Decision to Repatriate Benin Bronzes – Hyperallergic