USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: [AfricanAntiques] Benin Ivory

"Does this mean noboby can sell a Benin bronze or ivory anymore coming from the "British punitive expedition" that happened more than hundred years ago ?"

David Norden

A problematic question,because those artifacts are stolen property. The owners of the property still exist. They are most unhappy about the violent robbery carried out against them and, I understand,have demanded the return of the works of art without success.

We also need to note that the massacre of Binis,the  pillage and burning of Benin and sending the Oba into exile, were premeditated  acts carried out by the English against Benin using the killing of English officials as an  excuse. Records exist showing the English planning to sack Benin well before their officials were killed.  

The English were warned that the Oba of Benin did not receive  foreigners  at the time they arrived but they pressed on.I do not condone their being killed but we  must we respect the customs of others where they do not endanger  our own well being.

 The brazen acts of inhumanity,of murder,of burning the city and of cultural dispossession  carried out in the attack on Benin are not excused by the act of the Binis.

In ostensible revenge for the killing of a number of English people,the city representing an entire nation was sacked,its citizens killed,the  city burnt,some of its most precious cultural forms stolen,its Oba sent into exile,its people colonized,its mode of existence changed by force.This barbarism demonstrates English colonialism at its worst.

In the light of these considerations,one observes that the subject of the works of art looted from  Benin by the British remains most sensitive.

When will the English return this loot?

Thanks

Toyin

On 3 January 2011 17:12, David Norden <david@african-antiques.com> wrote:

 

Happy New Year to all members of the group,

The auction from Sotheby's has been cancelled as mentionned at http://african-arts.info/benin_ivory_auction_cancelled.htm , seems there was some action taken by individuals and

Does this mean noboby can sell a Benin bronze or ivory anymore coming from the "British punitive expedition" that happened more than hundred years ago ?

A number of private individuals contacted the auction house last week to complain about the sale of the 16th-century ivory mask, once thought to have belonged to an ancient Nigerian king, the Edo State Government also requested a cancellation of the auction through the United Nations. Local government officials in Nigeria have publicly condemned the sale and criticised the object's current owners, the descendants of a former British government official involved in an 1897 British invasion of Benin, a city-state in what is now Nigeria .

It was due to be sold by the descendants of Lt-Col Sir Henry Lionel Galway, who took part in 1897's punitive expedition in southern Nigeria. This was carried out by British forces in retaliation for a massacre of a previous British-led invasion force. Troops deposed the king and looted the city.

The British confiscated many of the treasures they found, auctioning them off to finance the expedition. Many of the artefacts ended up in the British Museum, which currently holds another of the same group of masks, although some remained in private hands.

"The Benin ivory mask and other items consigned by the descendants of Lionel Galway which Sotheby's had announced for auction in February 2011 have been withdrawn from sale at the request of the consignors," said a Sotheby's spokesman.

Protests against the sale emerged on social networking sites last week. An online petition was organised by the Nigeria Liberty Forum, which describes itself as a "UK-based Nigerian pro-democracy group".

"They should seek good counsel and refrain from selling the mask," Orobosa Omo-Ojo, an official in the state government of Edo, which contains the modern city of Benin, told the press in Nigeria. "Anything that makes them ignore this call [from] the Edo state government will [make us] use this as a starting point to protect our intellectual properties."

The mask, which depicts the head of the queen mother of the Edo peoples, was due to be auctioned along with five other rare pieces collected from Benin at the same time. According to Sotheby's, the masks "rank among the most iconic works of art to have been created in Africa".

The mask had previously been on public view in 1947 as part of an exhibition at London's Berkeley Galleries. It was shown in 1951 in another show at the Arts Gallery of the Imperial Institute in London.

"It has an amazing untouched surface which collectors love," said the director of African and Oceanic Art at Sotheby's, Jean Fritts. "Its honey colour attests to years of rubbing with palm oil."

Sotheby's statement was not very clear why the auction was cancelled, but it is clear to me that they didn't want it to become a "trial"

SOTHEBY'S STATEMENT REGARDING CANCELLATION OF BENIN SALE

"The Benin Ivory Pendant Mask and other items consigned by the descendants of Lionel Galway which Sotheby's had announced for auction in February 2011 have been withdrawn from sale at the request of the consignors."

Also some Facebook group requested to Stop The Sale of Stolen 16th Century Benin Mask and got more than 500 fans quite fast

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-The-Sale-of-Stolen-16th-Century-Benin-Mask/141311869256609

Those of you interested in knowing more about Benin Art this is a book I recommend: http://africanartclub.com/beninkings

I still am wondering how this will impact the African Art market and in particular the Benin Art market?

Your thoughts are welcome,

David Norden

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