Britain has been contemplating returning its looted treasure, and this topic is raised every time a historical ceremony of artifacts takes place in the country. Because of its imperial history, Britain’s rulers were very keen on collecting art pieces and would hunt for those crafted well. This enabled them to amass many ancient artworks, and they were used to mesmerize people who visited the kingdom while decorating the place. Since the British were very active in colonization activities, many of these ancient masterpieces were acquired across the globe and brought back to the UK.
The University of Cambridge recently held a ceremony meant to acknowledge the official return of a bronze statue of a cockerel named Okukur [Source]. The statue was given to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments on Wednesday. According to historical facts, University of Cambridge received the statue as a donation in 1905 from a student’s father. It was looted during the 1897 British invasion of Benin city, Nigeria [Source]. During this period, the British forces burned down various royal palaces and buildings while stealing priceless artifacts. Records show that “thousands of bronze” were looted and still housed in numerous museums across the UK.
The prestigious ceremony at Jesus College to return these bronze artworks was applauded by many stakeholders, and a follow-up ceremony was held at the University of Aberdeen on Thursday evening, “where a sculpture depicting the head of a Benin king was returned to Nigeria.”
It seems like some European countries were also persuaded to follow suit in repatriating the looted artifacts. France and Germany are the notable nations to do so, and the French President was humble enough to grace a ceremony of this nature on Wednesday at the Quai Branly museum in Paris. During this event, about 26 Benin artifacts were returned, and it was a significant step in ensuring that the appropriate people took such memorabilia.
Prince Edun Akenzua of the Royal Court of Benin had requested the cockerel to return on national television program [Source]. He commented that these objects, dubbed ‘Benin bronzes,’ were not supposed to sit in museums and said, “They were not originally made as museum objects.” He added that “We are appealing to Bristol Museum to blaze the trail for the international community or private holders of the Benin cultural property to get them returned.” As clearly noted by the Prince, these objects are scattered in most European countries, where they are stored in museums, varsities, and closets of private collectors.
European countries’ voyages worldwide led to the loss of more than 1 000 plaques and sculptures found in royal places and alters. The Prince’s appeal was comprehended by Jon Finch, Bristol City Council’s head of culture. Finch said, “We’re happy to explore with the prince the opportunity of returning the object.”
“We’d like to have correspondence with him to see what the specific request is and how we can progress that.”
Since these objects are regarded as priceless, museums do not sell them, but in some cases, they are auctioned off to collectors or businesses which need a monumental object at a public place. To the original owners, these objects will bring back memories of their forefathers and enable them to have a taste of their past.
The British Museum acknowledged the importance of giving such objects to the rightfully and said it “understands and recognizes the significance of the issues surrounding the return of objects” and vowed to share its collection “as widely as possible.”
However, some people completely brush the idea of returning bronze artifacts to Nigeria and argue that the British Museum is quite a big attraction globally, which will trigger many people to see the objects. But such utterances did not sit well with others who felt that the British were undermining Nigeria’s museums and suggesting that it was not well equipped to look after its historical object. This was treated as an attack on the African country, and this kind of thinking has crippled developing nations as developed nations loot their property in the name of “safeguarding” it.
Kehinde Andrews, professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University, said, “This logic suggests that Nigeria is a poorer country that incapable of properly looking after the artifacts that colonialists stole, despite the fact there is a state-of-the-art museum awaiting them in Nigeria. It’s a classic racist argument that Britain is a place of refinement and knows best.”
This perspective shows that some people will never forgive the British for “stealing” these bronze objects and will always question how bronze objects found themselves in foreign countries. In this case, it will only seem fair to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar as the British must return the looted treasure.
