TWH – Repatriation refers to returning something or someone to their country of origin. Pagans may have a special interest in the return of ritual artifacts to their country of origin. Some Pagans might argue that the artifacts are being returned to the local genius loci rather than the modern nation-state.
Repatriation is a complicated issue. On the one hand, it is an important aspect of decolonization. On the hand, the modern culture of the same region may be unequipped or even hostile to some repatriated objects; for example, pre-Islamic artifacts to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Repatriation remedies several different problems. Distinguishing between those problems helps to clarify the issues involved.
Artifacts as knowledge
The artifacts of cultures have knowledge value. Their remains can help us to understand cultural differences and possibilities of being. Without knowing the “provenance” of an artifact, no one can understand those differences and possibilities. The provenance refers to the location, method of “excavation,” and other objects in the same layer as the found artifact.
Those artifacts have a specific knowledge value for the cultural descendants of the makers of those artifacts. That knowledge builds social identity. It can also help to revitalize local traditions and culture.
Artifacts as status symbols
The artifacts of certain cultures have an economic value as high-status collectibles. They become a form of status display. As status symbols, the context of their finding becomes irrelevant, compared to their market value.
A worldwide network of individuals engages in the illegal extraction of artifacts which are then sold to the highest bidder. Prestigious museums have taken part in these types of exchanges. This process threatens the value of artifacts as a source of knowledge.
Artifacts as imperial trophies
Frequently, the European imperial invasions of Africa, the Americas, and Asia involved pillage. Repatriation of artifacts becomes a relevant part of decolonization projects.
The pillaging of nations and cultures seized important artifacts to break the will of the culture under attack. People may have used those pillaged artifacts as mundane objects despite the fact that those artifacts could have played a vital religious role. The artifacts could include ancestral remains not to mention damaging them. In which case,
Two famous sets of imperial trophies
In 1920, the British Empire controlled about one-quarter of the earth’s land mass. While the empire may be gone, its imperial trophies remain in British hands. The British Museum currently has the world’s most extensive collection of Benin Bronzes and the Parthenon Marbles.
The Benin Bronzes
The British Army stole the Benin Bronzes from the Kingdom of Benin. The territory of that kingdom today lies in the modern nation-state of Nigeria. The historic Kingdom of Benin differs from the modern nation-state of Benin.
Memorial bust of a king’s mother iyoba, Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, early 16th century AD, gunmetal bronze, currently housed at the Berlin Ethnological Museum – Image credit: Daderot – CC0 – Public Domain
The Benin Bronzes include ceremonial heads, items of royal regalia, plaques, and personal ornaments. From the 16th Century onwards, specialist guilds in Benin City created these artifacts. Besides bronze, guild workers used leather, ivory, coral, and wood to create the artifacts.
The bronzes adorned the ancestral altars of the Obas (Kings) and Queen Mothers. Rituals to honor the ancestors used some of these bronzes. They recorded the dynastic, diplomatic, and social history of the Benin Kingdom.
The Kingdom’s rituals and ceremonies still occur. Its monarchy has survived. The Kingdom of Benin has maintained a living culture in the modern world.
In 1897, Britain launched a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Benin. On February 18, the British burned and pillaged its capital. Part of that pillaging involved stealing anything of value. The British seized 3,000 artworks from the royal palace. They also sent the Oba (King) into exile.
Among those 3,000 artworks, were the Benin bronzes. The British Army gave most to the British Museum. The rest of the bronzes were scattered across the Euro-American world. Nigeria has sought their return ever since its independence from Britain in 1960.
As of press time, the British Museum holds about 900 Benin Bronze artifacts. This marks the largest collection of those artifacts anywhere in the world.
Digital Benin is an online database focused on the culture of the Kingdom of Benin. As of press time, 131 institutions in 20 countries hold historical Benin artifacts in their collections.
On October 11, the U.S. National Gallery of Art, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art held a repatriations ceremony to mark the repatriation of 29 artifacts from those museums. The Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) now holds title to those artifacts. Prof. Abba Isa Tijani, director general of the NCMM, described the repatriation as “a harbinger of greater things to come.”
The Smithsonian may have bought them legally. Their seller, however, acquired them as a result of an unethical practice, imperial pillage. This reflects a new ethical policy that the Smithsonian has adopted. Twenty artifacts remain at the Smithsonian, while their provenance is being investigated.
On Aug. 8, as TWH previously reported, the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London said it would return 12 Benin Bronze plaques to Nigeria, and an additional 60 other artifacts which include an altar and brass bells. The museum said it would transfer legal ownership to Nigeria. While a date has yet to be set for the return of the artifacts, the museum’s board of trustees issued a statement outlining its intent to work with Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) to physically repatriate the artifacts.
Benin bronzes at the Horniman Museum – Image credit: Mike Peel – CC BY-SA 4.0
In July, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge both announced they would return to Nigeria the 213 artifacts they collectively hold after receiving a formal request from Nigeria’s NCMM. While both universities support the return of the artifacts, they were required to submit their cases to the U.K. Charity Commission which will need to approve the return of artifacts.
In 2020, Germany announced its plans to repatriate all Benin Bronzes in its possession. This past July, the German government announced it had signed an agreement to return 1,100 bronzes, as well as pledging to assist with the construction of the Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City where the region’s cultural treasures and artifacts will eventually be displayed.
Other entities pledging to repatriate their Benin Bronzes include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, France, and the City of Glasgow.
The Parthenon Marbles
By the early 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had occupied Greece for 100s of years. At that time, the Earl of Elgin was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He removed about half of the remaining sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures on the Acropolis. More bluntly, he damaged existing ancient structures to obtain artifacts for display elsewhere.
Elgin claimed to have concerns about possible damage to the sculptures. He felt the Ottoman Empire exhibited indifference to the monuments of ancient Greece. He requested permission to have an artist measure, sketch, and copy the sculptures. He said he wanted to preserve them for posterity. The local Ottoman official granted him that permission, and also gave Elgin authority to remove pieces of stone with inscriptions. No representative of the Greeks was involved.
Elgin ran with that authority. He took friezes, pediment sculptures, and statues from inside the Parthenon. He also took columns and molding from other buildings on the Acropolis. In 1803, Elgin left the embassy and returned to England.
Even by the low standards of the early 19th Century, the theft of the Parthenon Marbles generated controversy. Lord Byron, among others, denounced Elgin. The British Crown bought the sculptures from Elgin.
Parthenon marbles in the British Museum – Imaged credit: Txllxt TxllxT – CC BY-SA 4.0
The Greek government has been demanding the return of the Parthenon Marbles. Last week, U.K. Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said, “We have no plans to change the law, which prevents removing objects from the British Museum’s collection apart from in certain circumstances. Our position on this hasn’t changed. Decisions relating to the care and management of the collections are a matter for the museum and its trustees. The Parthenon sculptures are legally owned by the trustees and operationally independent of the government.”
British Museum officials while stating the museum wants a “new Parthenon partnership with Greece” has also noted it will follow the law “and we’re not going to dismantle our great collection as it tells a unique story of our common humanity.”
These statements came on the heels of the Greek daily newspaper, Ta Nea, reporting that George Osborne, the chair of the British Museum and the former chancellor has been in private talks with Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, since November 2021 concerning the future of various artifacts and the possible return of the Parthenon sculptures.
Updates on other repatriation cases
On December 2, the board of the National Museum of Scotland voted to return a totem pole to the Nisga’a Nation that lives in what is now British Columba. Chief Earl Stephens said, “In Nisga’a culture, we believe that this pole is alive with the spirits of our ancestors.“
In the latter part of the 19th Century, the Nisga’a carved the pole to honor a fallen warrior, Ts’aawit. In 1929, a Canadian anthropologist gained permission from Canada to remove the totem pole. He did not, however, gain permission from the Nisga’a. He took the pole from a native village and brought it to the National Museum of Scotland. Next year, the totem pole will be physically returned.
On December 2, it was also reported that George Fox University in Oregon has returned 25 artifacts to the village of Kake, Alaska. Those artifacts include ceremonial paddles, headdresses, a wooden mask, and woven baskets. Quakers stole the artifacts when they built a mission in Kake in 1891.
On August 14, TWH reported that the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles said it would return to Italy the group of statues, “Orpheus and the Sirens.” On September 17, the group of statues arrived safely in Rome. They are on display at Museo dell’Arte Salvata (The Museum of Rescued Art) at the Baths of Diocletian until 8 January.
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