The story of a powerful West African kingdom & British imperial greed. The dispersal of the Bronzes and today’s debate about their future.

Join the Royal African Society and the Centre of African Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), for the launch of LOOT – Britain and the Benin Bronzes by renowned former BBC journalist, Barnaby Phillips.

In 1897, Britain sent a punitive expedition to the Kingdom of Benin, in what is today Nigeria, in retaliation for the killing of seven British officials and traders. British soldiers and sailors captured Benin, exiled its king, and annexed the territory. They also made off with some of Africa’s greatest works of art.

This is the story of the ‘Benin Bronzes’: their history before the British took them, their fate since 1897, and the intense debate about their future. When they were first displayed in London their splendour and antiquity challenged the prevailing view of Africa as a continent without culture or history. They are now amongst the most admired and valuable artworks in the world. But seeing the Benin Bronzes in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like ‘visiting relatives behind bars’. In a time of huge controversy about the legacy of empire, racial justice and the future of museums, what does the future hold for the Bronzes?

Chair: Femi Oke – International journalist & co-founder of @moderatethepanel

Speakers:

• Barnaby Phillips, Author
• Enotie Paul Ogbebor, Visual artist and singer/songwriter
• Professor Nicholas Thomas, Director of the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

If you’ve missed this event, you can watch the video here.