Museums have long been reluctant to deal with their art from the colonial past. The debate about the Benin bronzes changed that. Leading the way: the Linden Museum. Just one day after a groundbreaking agreement, a high-ranking visitor is coming.
Stuttgart/Berlin (dpa/lsw) - Just one day after the agreement between Germany and Nigeria on the so-called Benin bronzes, the Linden Museum in Stuttgart is expecting a high-ranking visitor from the African country. The Director General of Nigeria's National Museums and Monuments Authority, Abba Tijani, will be received for talks on Wednesday (12 noon). The main focus is on the 78 objects from the former royal house of Benin, including 64 bronzes that were considered colonial loot.
It was announced on Tuesday that a declaration of intent would be signed in Berlin this Friday. This should clear the way for the transfer of ownership of the valuable art objects. As a result, Science Minister Theresia Bauer (Greens) announced that Baden-Württemberg was the first state to take steps to return art objects that were considered colonial loot. The Linden Museum will identify specific objects for return and enter into discussions with the Nigerian side. "I am very confident that we will now quickly come to comprehensive returns, especially from the Linden Museum," Bauer told dpa.
Around 1100 of the artistic bronzes from the palace of the then 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 also 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 (Greens) was 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 shouldn't end there. Bauer is in favor of restitution of all Benin objects to Nigeria. A historic whip and a Bible from the Linden Museum collection had previously been returned to Namibia.
