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What happened to the Benin court collections?

Specialist makers created works for Benin’s royal and ancestral life. British forces looted the palace and shrines in 1897, dispersing objects that later entered the Museum through several acquisition chains.

What happened to the Benin court collections?

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Begin with the people and uses behind the objects. Specialist court guilds in the kingdom of Benin made works for royal ceremonies, remembrance and the relationship between rulers and ancestors. The kingdom was in what is now Nigeria. The objects were part of a living court before they were grouped into museum collections. The name Benin Bronzes covers many kinds of work. Much of the metal is brass, and the wider group includes other materials. A plaque and a Queen Mother’s Altar of the Hand had different forms and roles. Those differences survive within the larger story of dispersal.

The seizure in 1897

British military occupation in 1897 included looting and destruction at the palace and shrines. Objects were removed and dispersed. Some later entered the Museum through official transfers, private gifts or purchases. The Queen Mother’s Altar of the Hand, now displayed in Room 25, was bought from Major Cockburn in June 1897. Its purchase is a traceable later event in a chain that includes the earlier looting.

How the collection grew

The Museum records a loan of 304 plaques in 1897, with 203 subsequently donated, as well as later private acquisitions. The resulting collection was built through several transactions. The two plaques often used as examples in collection accounts are currently off display. The Queen Mother’s altar in Room 25 provides a specific work to examine without treating every published plaque as part of the present installation.

Requests and other forms of cooperation

The Museum acknowledges a written request from Nigeria’s Ministry in October 2021, clarified in July 2022, and requests from the Royal Palace. Its account also records earlier transfers during the colonial period. Research partnerships, discussions about return and a completed transfer of ownership are different actions. A project carried out together does not by itself determine who owns an object or where it will be displayed.

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