Half of Beninese objects of sensitive provenance in Swiss museums President Berset travels to Botswana and Mozambique

Swiss museums own about 100 objects from the former kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria: half of them can be linked to the invasion of the British colonial army in 1897, a study has found.

British troops then stormed the capital Benin City. Before they burned down the royal palace, they looted it. It is estimated that about 10,000 brass, ivory and wooden objects fell into their hands. The so-called “Benin bronzes” found their way to private and public collections through the art trade.

Led by the Museum Rietberg in Zurich, eight Swiss museums joined forces to form the Benin Initiative Switzerland (BIS) in 2021 to explore the origins of their holdings from the historic kingdom.

Just over half of Benin’s 96 properties have been looted (22 percent) or are likely to be looted (34 percent), according to the research presented at the Swiss Benin Forum on Thursday. Written evidence or other evidence such as burns, among others, points to this.

For 16 percent of the exhibits, a connection to the looting is considered unlikely because they are not in a courtly context. This is clearly excluded at 28 percent – for example because the masks and figures were only made in the 20th century.

In many different ways

The eight Swiss museums have acquired their Benin collections over a long period of time. Unlike in Great Britain or Germany, for example, the objects did not enter the country in the first place immediately after the British military expedition.

Only the Museum der Kulturen Basel purchased eight objects, according to the research report. The remaining objects found their way to Swiss museums in roughly equal numbers during the colonial and post-colonial periods. The latest 2022.

The investigation proved difficult, according to the report written in English. Even after intensive research, there are still many gaps. Since the objects would have traveled many paths, dozens of people were involved.

So far, 71 actors – mainly art dealers and collectors – have been identified. According to the report, most are only connected to one or two of the objects. This shows how fragmented the acquisition of the collections was. The Swiss museums have only acquired them in dribs and drabs.

Questions about the future of the collections

Claims for the return of the “Benin bronzes”, which despite their name are often made of copper or a metal alloy, have not yet been submitted in Switzerland.

It is, however, important for the museums participating in the initiative to tackle the problem of stolen Benin heritage and to deal proactively with the colonial collections, according to the research report, which was solemnly handed over to a delegation from Nigeria on the Swiss Benin forum.

At the forum, the Nigerian and Swiss side presented a joint statement discussing the future handling of the Benin collections and planned cooperation.

The museums involved are open to transferring ownership of the looted and most likely looted items, a press release said. What this means concretely is not clear. Return of the objects remains conceivable, but they can also remain on loan in the Swiss museums.

After the provenance research has been carried out, the Benin Initiative Switzerland now wants to enter into a public dialogue about the provenance and future of the Benin collections in a second phase.

The project is financed by the Federal Office of Culture. In addition to the Museum Rietberg, the Kulturmuseum St. Gallen, the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich, the Museum der Kulturen Basel, the Museum Schloss Burgdorf, the Bernisches Historisches Museum, the Musée d’Ethnographie de la Ville de Neuchâtel and the Musée is also involved in the project d’Ethnographie de la Ville de Geneve.

(jam/sda)