The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced on Wednesday that it plans to return to Nigeria two brass plaques from its collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced on Wednesday that it plans to return to Nigeria two brass plaques from its collection, part of the group of West African artifacts known as the Benin bronzes, making them the latest institution to continue the repatriation of looted works.
He also negotiated the return of a third object – a brass head produced in the town of Ife around the 14th century – which had been offered to the museum for sale.
“The Met is pleased to have initiated the return of these works and is committed to transparency and responsible collection of cultural goods,” the museum said in a statement.
The two 16th century brass plaques, “Chef guerrier” and “Junior Court Official” were created at the Court of Benin.
They are part of a collection of artifacts the British Army looted in an 1897 raid on Benin City, present-day Nigeria, which are now scattered in museums and private collections around the world.
The plaques were kept at the British Museum and then at the National Museum in Lagos. “Although they were never withdrawn by the National Museum,” the Met said in a statement, “both plaques entered the international art market on an unknown date and under unclear circumstances and were eventually acquired by a New York collector “.
In 1991, the collector donated his Beninese works to the Met.
The Met, which has some 160 objects from Benin City in its collection, including a famous ivory mask, said it initiated the comeback after conducting research in partnership with the British Museum over the past year. The works in the Met’s collection “were largely donated to the institution in the 1970s and 1990s by individuals who acquired them in the art market,” a spokesperson told The New York Times in April.
Kenneth Weine, spokesperson for the Met, said the return of the mask was not being considered, although he provided no reason.
The Met has removed the plaques and will hand them over to the director general of the Nigerian National Commission on Museums and Monuments, Abba Isa Tijani, when he can visit New York, the museum said in a statement.
They will likely be on display in the Edo West African Art Museum project in Benin City, designed by architect David Adjaye. The museum’s current goal is to open in 2025, although the schedule has been pushed back several times.
Despite their name, many bronzes are actually made from ivory, brass, and wood. While European museums have been discussing with Nigeria for years, American institutions have only recently started to work on the bronzes in their collections.
“Nigeria urges other museums to take inspiration from it,” said Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, in a statement. “The art world can be a better place if every owner of cultural artifacts takes into account the rights and feelings of the dispossessed.”