There are Benin Bronzes in what seems like almost every one of the large museums in Europe & the US. This article tries to summarise the key issues regarding their continued retention.

From:
Afrikanet

European and US American Museums and the Benin Bronzes
Written by Dr. Kwame Opoku
Sunday, 05 October 2008
TEN ESSENTIAL POINTS ON THE CONTINUED DETENTION OF THE BENIN BRONZES BY EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN MUSEUMS

The following are some of the essential points about the Benin bronzes that the reader must know and always bear in mind when reading about the looted cultural artefacts now in European and American museums.

1. Thousands of beautiful and fine Benin art objects were stolen by the British in 1897 when they illegally invaded Benin City, executed some nobles, exiled the Oba (King) and burnt the city.

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Another review of James Cuno’s book on why museums should be holding onto cultural property of questionable provenance.

Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage: Museums and the Battle Over Our Ancient Heritage
Author: James Cuno
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691137129

From:
The Australian

Back to the source
Ingrid D. Rowland | October 04, 2008

Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle Over Our Ancient Heritage
By James Cuno
Princeton University Press, 228pp, $US24.95
The encyclopedic museums’ argument against repatriation of classical artefacts is self-servingly flawed, writes Ingrid D. Rowland

EARLY this year, the state apartments of the Palazzo del Quirinale hosted a remarkable exhibition of ancient Greek, Roman and Etruscan artefacts, all found on Italian soil but held until recently in museums and private collections in the US, notably the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The exhibition was a diplomatic coup for Francesco Rutelli, the former mayor of Rome, who until April was minister of culture for two years in the left-wing government of Romano Prodi.

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Edith Mazier has written an interesting piece on how looting of antiquities & cultural property is not something only relevant to academics, but is something that has the potential to be relevant to everyone.

From:
Suite101

Cultural Vandalism Diminishes All
Looting of Art, Artifacts, and Antiquities Is a Pernicious Problem
© E.E. Mazier
Sep 11, 2008

Because the theft, smuggling, and mistreatment of artwork and cultural artifacts have a negative impact on all humanity, these practices merit universal condemnation.

In September 2008, Ethiopia celebrated the re-erection of a 1,700-year-old granite obelisk in the town of Axum. The obelisk had been standing in Rome since Fascist invaders had shipped its pieces to Italy in 1937. Although the Ethiopians had demanded the return of their national monument since the end of World War II, Italy dragged its feet until 2005.

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Many aspects of African culture have died out or been forgotten, but this could be in part due to removal of many of their most important artefacts to fill the museums of the west rather than to hod significance to their own people. This is far from the only problem in re-discovering a country’s culture, but it is a starting point & one that is resolved relatively easily if there is the will for both sides to negotiate.

From:
AllAfrica

Kenya: Fostering Nationhood
The East African (Nairobi)
OPINION - 14 September 2008
Posted to the web 15 September 2008
Betty Caplan

Two important cultural institutions — the National Museum and the RaMoMa Gallery — have reopened in the past few months with little pomp, circumstance or media attention.

But it seems that serious discussion on the arts has been overtaken by politics to such an extent that only John Kariuki in this paper took the trouble to point out that no provision for it had been made in the last budget — a short-sighted calculation since, if wisely handled, the arts can make big money.

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A response to the earlier editorial article about how corruption threatens the security of some ancient artefacts in Nigeria.

From:
Modern Ghana

SAFEGUARDING NIGERIA’S CULTURAL TREASURES
By Kwame Opoku, Dr.
Feature Article | Wed, 13 Aug 2008

There are probably few countries in the world that can boast of such an abundance of cultural treasures as Nigeria, one of the richest countries in the world. But Nigeria has also an enormous amount of organizational problems which are also reflected in the cultural area. The constant lamentations about the weak security in many Nigerian museums often cause distress to those concerned about the fate of cultural objects that were unlawfully taken out of the country and which have to be returned in the future. Those conscious of these problems are discussing how to combat corruption in this area and how to achieve high standards of security.

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Items such as the Benin Bronzes were removed from Nigeria in dubious circumstances during the colonial period. In some cases though, work needs to be done to secure the remaining artefacts within the country rather than losing focus on them whilst those outside the country are the issue.

This does not of course take into account that there is no moral argument for their retention by an appointed party without any attempts to enter into dialogue with the rightful owners.

From:
allAfrica

Nigeria: Safe-Guarding Our Treasures
Daily Trust (Abuja)
EDITORIAL
12 August 2008

The original Benin bronze-head, the exquisite symbol of the creative ingenuity of the Bini, Nigerian and indeed African people still lies in some British museum where it is being kept, after having been stolen by the British colonialists.

Sporadic efforts at reclaiming it a few years ago became a court case and the British Court ruled that the bronze head may have originated from Nigeria but it is now a priceless world cultural heritage and therefore can be kept by any country, particularly when the country holding it would do a better job at its safe-keeping.

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A review of James Cuno’s new book in the Financial Times gives the impression that the provenance of all artefacts is somewhat vague. This seems to be a grossly inaccurate statement, which ignores the vast numbers of artefacts with clearly traceable provenance, whilst attempting to legitimise the position of museums & institutions of the west who hold onto artefacts whose provenance is many levels below murky.

David Gill expands on this on his blog.

Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage: Museums and the Battle Over Our Ancient Heritage
Author: James Cuno
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691137129

From:
Financial Times

Who Owns Antiquity?
Review by Christian Tyler
Published: August 4 2008 08:08 | Last updated: August 4 2008 08:08
Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over our Ancient Heritage
By James Cuno
Princeton University Press £14.95, 265 pages
FT Bookshop price: £11.95

The provenance of antiquities has always been murky. In the past, it didn’t stop museums from acquiring great collections. These days, it is such a political issue that curators have to work hard to defend what their museums already hold, let alone add to their collections.

Many governments are nationalising the antiquities in their countries – by criminalising private possession, banning exports and demanding the restitution of objects which have been held abroad for years.

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The British Museum (& others) make much of the fact that they allow comparison of cultural artefacts from different parts of the world within close proximity to one another, allowing comparisons to be drawn. Is this really the only (or even best) method though & how much relevance does it actually have? In some situations, there are clear comparisons to be drawn, but in other cases, perceived similarities are more coincidental than they are indicators of a bigger unifying picture.

From:
Modern Ghana

IS AFRICA CLOSER TO OCEANIA THAN TO EUROPE? VISIT TO AN EXHIBITION ON AFRICAN AND OCEANIAN ARTS.
By Kwame Opoku, Dr.
Feature Article | Sun, 27 Jul 2008

“We Westerners are the ones who confer the quality of art to these objects. These statues should not return to Africa.” Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller (1)

Seldom have I been to an exhibition where almost everything seemed to have been so well-planned and very carefully considered as the exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, entitled, Afrique - Oceanie, Les chef-d’oeuvres de la collection Barbier-Mueller,19 March - 24 August 2008.

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Kwame Opoku writes about the opening of the exhibition Benin-Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria in Chicago & how maybe some of the sculptures would be appreciated more if they were returned to their original context.

From:
Modern Ghana

Further Report from the exhibition “Benin-Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria”
By Kwame Opoku, Dr.
Feature Article | Fri, 18 Jul 2008

The article below provides us further report on the opening of the exhibition which is now at the Art Institute of Chicago. until 21 September,2008. I was very interested to note that the Field Museum in Chicago has some 400 Benin bronzes, a fact which up to now seems to have escaped the attention of many of us who believe that the time has come for the various holders of the Benin bronzes to take a courageous step in returning some of the pieces. Americans and Europeans cannot need these Benin bronzes as much as the people of Benin.

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Just as Lord Elgin did over two hundred years ago, other people today continue to take advantage of political situations around the world as a means to acquire artefacts that might not otherwise be available for purchase. Unlike in Elgin’s time though, there are now numerous laws & statutes in place that are supposed to prevent such actions taking place,

From:
Press TV (Iran)

Afghan manuscripts sold for a morsel
Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:10:46

Keeping body and soul together, poor Afghan families put their priceless handwritten books under the hammer in the war torn country.

The manuscripts have bee taken to museums in Britain, France and Germany and the appeal to UNESCO to restore the books has failed so far, said Habib-ullah Takhari, the Afghan cultural attaché in Tehran.

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James Cuno has taken part in a long radio conversation to promote his new book.

Tom Flynn speculates on his site, why Cuno’s book is being treated as credible.

Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage: Museums and the Battle Over Our Ancient Heritage
Author: James Cuno
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691137129

Listen to the radio interview on KCRW here.

Tom Flynn’s response is here.

James Cuno seems convinced (maybe because himself) that the power of museums to good in the world is all important & it should over-rule any minor things like who is the actual owner of artefacts & where they were acquired…

Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage: Museums and the Battle Over Our Ancient Heritage
Author: James Cuno
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691137129

From:
Chicago Reader

Who Owns Antiquity?
In a controversial new book, Art Institute president James Cuno argues that museums should trump nations.
By Deanna Isaacs
June 5, 2008

When I was a kid, the public library in my hometown of Minneapolis had a pair of real Egyptian mummies. They were displayed in glass cases and one was partially unwrapped, his head exposed. He was small (about my ten-year-old size) and shriveled, with gaping sockets where his eyes had been. A card said he’d been a priest who lived more than 2,500 years ago, and explained that during the mummification process his brains had been pulled out through his nose. I was mesmerized. Out of time and place, his eternal rest horribly violated (even by my gaze), he seemed to me to be an emissary from an amazing and previously unimaginable culture.

Those mummies, now on loan to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, came to mind as I was reading James Cuno’s controversial new book, Who Owns Antiquity?, in which he rails against cultural property laws that have made it nearly impossible to legally export not only mummies but almost any relics from the countries in which they’re found. Cuno, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, contends that these laws, though regularly rationalized as a means to protect archeological sites, are actually about something else.

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