Museums have long been reluctant to deal with their art from the colonial past. The debate about the Benin bronzes changed that. At the forefront: the Stuttgart Linden Museum.
Stuttgart/Berlin (dpa/lsw) – After the agreement between Germany and Nigeria on the so-called Benin bronzes, Baden-Württemberg has taken the first steps towards returning the art objects that were considered colonial loot. The Stuttgart Linden Museum will identify specific objects for return and enter into talks with the Nigerian side, announced Science Minister Theresia Bauer (Greens) on Tuesday evening.
The state government is the first federal state to implement the latest agreement, Bauer told the German Press Agency. “I am very confident that we can now quickly come to comprehensive returns, especially from the Linden Museum.”
A few hours earlier it had become known that a declaration of intent between Germany and Nigeria would be signed this Friday in Berlin. This should clear the way for the transfer of ownership of the valuable art objects.
“We want to take responsibility for our difficult colonial legacy,” added Minister Bauer. “And actively dealing with the consequences of the colonial era and overcoming racism and discrimination is unthinkable without returns on a relevant scale.”
Already on Wednesday (12.00 p.m.) the Stuttgart Linden Museum is expecting important visitors from the African country. The Director General of Nigeria’s National Museums and Monuments Authority, Abba Tijani, is welcomed for talks. The main focus is on the 78 objects from the former royal house of Benin, including 64 bronzes that were considered colonial loot.
Around 1,100 of the ornate bronzes from the palace of what was then the Kingdom of Benin, which today belongs to Nigeria, can be found in around 20 German museums. Most of the objects come from the British looting of 1897.
Last year, representatives from the federal government, Nigeria and museums announced the retransfer of ownership rights. In addition to the Linden Museum, the Museum am Rothenbaum (Hamburg), the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum (Cologne), the Ethnological Museum in Dresden/Leipzig and the Ethnological Museum in Berlin have the most extensive collections. So far, these five houses are involved in the planned transfer of ownership.
At the beginning of the year, Bauer was already convinced that the first stolen bronzes and other art treasures would be transferred to Nigeria in the course of this year. If it were up to her, the bronzes should not end there. She advocates the restitution of all Benin objects to Nigeria. A historic whip and a Bible from the Linden Museum collection had previously been returned to Namibia.
