What are the Benin Bronzes?
The Benin Bronzes refer to several thousand metal sculptures of ritual significance that once decorated the palace of the West African Kingdom of Benin, a wealthy Edo empire that ruled from the 10th century until 1897 in the region that is now Nigeria.
With West African cast brass traditions dating back to the medieval period, many of these expertly crafted objects were commissioned from specialist palace guilds as part of ceremonial practice, such as to honour a new or ancestral Oba (king).
Kingdom of Benin’s History
The expansive Kingdom was famed for its elaborate system of defensive walls and moats. With the arrival of Portuguese merchants on the West African coast, the Kingdom openly traded with Europeans, acquiring new materials for their crafts and selling their captives into Portugal’s slave trade.
The Capture of Benin City in 1897
During the British Empire’s violent military raid on Benin City in 1897, the sculptures were looted from the Benin Royal Palace along with ivory carvings and other treasures. The palace was subsequently burned and destroyed alongside other important buildings and cultural sites.
Most of the royal treasures were taken to auction in London, ending up in the hands of private collectors and museums across Europe and the United States. The raid was motivated by the British Royal Niger Company’s desire to hold a monopoly over trade in the region.
Kingdom of Benin’s Survival
As part of British Nigeria, the Kingdom of Benin remained under colonial rule until 1960. The people and their Oba have managed to preserve their cultural traditions, however, and hold an advisory position within the Federal Republic of Nigeria today.
Return of the Benin Bronzes
The Benin Dialogue Group is working to coordinate the return of these cultural artefacts from across Austria, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Repatriation efforts have been slow, however. The British Museum alone still holds 900 items from the Kingdom of Benin.
Further information on the Benin Bronzes
- Docherty, Paddy. Blood and Bronze: The British Empire and the Sack of Benin. Hurst, 2021.
- Digital Benin: https://digitalbenin.org/.
- Eyo, Ekpo. Two Thousand Years of Nigerian Art. Ethnographica Ltd, 1977.
- Hicks, Dan. The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution. Pluto Press, 2020.
- Phillips, Barnaby. Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes. Oneworld Publications, 2021.
- Omoregie, Iziengbe Pat. Heroines in Pre-colonial Benin, Their Lives and Transformations. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2012.
Histories of Colour 