Benin Dialogue Group

The Benin Dialogue Group is a multi-lateral international collaborative working group that brings together delegates from Western museums with representatives of the Nigerian Government, the Royal Court of Benin, and the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments. Its aims are cooperation between museums possessing Nigerian cultural heritage in Western countries and the restitution of illegally acquired artworks, in particular the Benin Bronzes.[1]

Bronze plate representing the traditional ruler Oba Orhogbua, 1550-1578 CE of the Edo people in Nigeria, currently in Horniman Museum, United Kingdom

Aims and results of the cooperation

The aim of the group is "to work together to establish a museum in Benin City that will facilitate a permanent display [for] reuniting Benin works of art dispersed in collections around the world."[2]

The group was formed in 2007[3] and is one of the central bodies for discussion on the restitution of cultural objects looted from Benin City as part of the puntive expedition by the British Army in 1897, which resulted in the destruction and looting of the ancient civilisation of that city.[4]

According to The Art Newspaper, "Since the 1960s, Nigeria has repeatedly called for their return. Consortium members include the British Museum in London and the Humboldt Forum in Berlin."[5]

Following the French report on the restitution of African cultual heritage, cooperation between the members of the Benin Dialogue Group has gained new strength, and in April 2021, the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland announced the return of Benin Bronzes by 2022.[6] The group's discussions have also resulted in a project for British architect Sir David Adjaye to design a new museum in Benin City.[7]

The achievements of the group, however, have been criticised by Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria's ambassador to Germany, who told Deutsche Welle that the dialogue "has been going on for so long now and nothing has happened and it seems to be gravitating more towards loans and which is totally unacceptable at the Nigerian side, because you can't lend someone. Let's say you break into their house, you steal their watch, and then you sell it onto a pawnshop. And whoever gets it from the pawn shop after the police come says, OK, well, I will lend it to him to go to a wedding with it. And then he gives it back to me. See, I mean, this is not rule of law. This is not good governance."[8]

In November 2021, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) returned two brass plaques from its collection to the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NNCMM) and signed a memorandum of understanding on further cooperation.[9]

See also

References
  1. Povolny, Bonnie (2018-11-23). "Benin Dialog Group: building and filling a new museum in Benin". culturalpropertynews.org. Archived from the original on 2020-02-15. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  2. MARKK Museum Hamburg (2020-08-12). "Benin Dialogue". markk-hamburg.de. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  3. "Benin Dialogue Group seeking for a solution for the so called Benin bronzes - HELLENIC SOCIETY FOR LAW AND ARCHAEOLOGY". www.law-archaeology.gr. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  4. Hicks, Dan (2020). The Brutish Museums : the Benin bronzes, colonial violence and cultural restitution. London. ISBN 978-1-78680-683-3. OCLC 1200494396.
  5. "'We want to be part of the solution': UK museum says it is open to discussing fate of Benin bronze after prince demands its return". www.theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  6. "Benin Bronzes: Germany to return looted artefacts to Nigeria". BBC News. 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  7. Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu. "Benin Dialogue Group Consolidates Plans for a Museum in Nigeria". www.smb.museum. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  8. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Is Germany promising to return artefacts looted from Benin? | DW | 29.03.2021". DW.COM. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  9. Liscia, Valentina Di (2021-11-22). "In Ceremony, Met Museum Officially Returns Benin Bronzes to Nigeria". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
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