You may have seen in the press the past couple of days that Newcastle university is set to return some Benin Bronze to Nigeria. There are hundreds of these artefacts, treasured records of history, spread across the world but largely in Britain and they need to be returned.
We came across an amazing article from @museorigins, the link is here for you to have a look at. The article explains their importance, how the Bronze was taken and what’s happening now with returning it. It’s a beautifully written and insightful piece so we’re enthusiastic that everyone has a read and understands more about this important and historical topic.
One really interesting point of note is that we have to appreciate Nigeria will want to manage their artefacts in a way they see fit, and not in a way that their current holders (the British Museum) expects or tries to enforce. Professor Layiwola who wants to see things done differently explains - “We need to have a right and better way to show these artefacts, not just rehashing the Western museum culture. Instead, we should think about the works in a new way, one that celebrates and promotes the community”.
We couldn’t agree more!