The Stanley Museum in Iowa has become the first museum in the US to return Benin Bronzes to its rightful owners.
In a ceremony held on July 15 at the Benin Palace in Nigeria, members of the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art returned two Benin Bronzes to representatives of the royal family. The objects – a wooden altarpiece and a brass plaque – were handed over to the Oba of Benin (the title of the head of the former royal family). This was preceded by years of dedicated research into determining the provenance of the two objects.
The Benin Bronzes are a collection of artifacts looted from the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, when the British forces attacked and raided the royal palace. Since then, most of the stolen objects have found themselves in public museums. Since 2023, the Nigerian government has renewed its efforts to reclaim the Benin Bronzes by stating that Oba Ewuare II, the current Oba, is the rightful owner of these artifacts.
While many museums have admitted that the objects rightfully belong to the Benin royal family, there have also been concerns about whether the objects would remain publically available once returned or would disappear in the Oba’s private collection. For instance, Germany has halted the return of 22 Benin Bronzes despite ordering its restitution in 2022.
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However, the Stanley Museum does not share this concern. Lauren Lessing, director of the museum, said that it is not her place to tell the rightful owners of the objects what to do with them. She added: “The best way for museums to ensure that the public can see these works in the future is to approach the Oba, as they would any other potential lender, and ask. The Oba has said that he intends to lend these important works to museums around the world and I have no reason to doubt him. Ultimately, however, he has the right to say yes to loan requests and he also has the right to say no.”
