The repatriation of the Benin Bronze Kate Coghlan

The repatriation of the Benin Bronze

Kate Coghlan, Editor

In 2015, several undergraduate students noticed a bronze statue of a cockerel displayed in the College Hall. The Latin plaque on its plinth explained that the statue had been “ captured” during the 1897 British Benin Expedition and gifted to Jesus College by George William Neville, the father of a student. Nadine BachelorHunt wrote in The Guardian1 that as an undergraduate, she started the campaign to return it: “As I began to investigate, I learned of its bloody history and, as somebody of Jamaican descent, my interest in returning the okukor to its rightful home was immediately piqued. ” Another student, Ore Ogunbiyi, described her reaction in her co-authored book The Black Girl’s Manifesto for Change: Taking Up Space:2 “I remember feeling shocked that this cockerel had been there and I hadn ’t noticed it. More shocking, though, was knowing that it was being displayed as if it were a trophy to be proud of, despite the knowledge of its history. ”

The 1897 Benin Expedition was a British-led military operation to capture Benin, the capital of an independent kingdom, now part of Southern Nigeria. Over 5,000 soldiers entered Benin, destroying the city, and looting its treasures. Several thousands of artefacts including bronzes were taken from Benin City and were scattered across museums and collections around the world, including the British Museum.

Led by Amatey Doku, who had recently finished his tenure as JCSU President, a group of students campaigned for the statue be removed and returned to Nigeria. They formed the Benin Bronze Appreciation Committee, and raised a motion at an Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) of the JCSU in February 2016, where they argued that the Benin Bronze should be returned. Some students protested the statue ’ s removal, but the JCSU took a vote, and the motion was passed. The College removed the statue from public view but by the time the students graduated, the question of repatriation was still unresolved.

In May 2019, the College set up its Legacy of Slavery Working Party (LSWP) chaired by College Fellow and HSPS Director of Studies, Dr Véronique Mottier. The group, which comprised ten Fellows and several staff and student representatives, committed to lead a rigorous examination of our College ’ s possible links with the slave trade and with colonial violence. As part of the latter, the group explored the historical, legal and moral status of the College ’ s ownership of the Bronze. The LSWP reported its findings to the College Fellowship and the new Master during the first Society meeting of Michaelmas Term 2019. It said there was no doubt that the statue was looted directly from the Court of Benin and had been given to the College in 1905 by the father of a student (Neville). Furthermore, archival evidence showed that the gift was accepted by the College in full knowledge of its origins; the College ’ s Conclusions Book for 22 May 1905 stated: “Agreed gratefully to accept Mr G W Neville ’ s gift of the bronze figure of a cock which formed part of the spoil captured at Benin, West Africa and to thank Mr Neville for making this appropriate gift to the College ” . The LSWP recommended that the College should return the statue, a proposal that was discussed by the Fellowship before agreement by Council.

Jesus College was the first institution in the world to announce its intention to return a Benin Bronze, a ground-breaking decision that attracted worldwide media interest; an estimated 1,000 articles were published on the issue between 2019 and 2022. The Spectator

“ world first’ but argued that this was “ nothing to be proud of” because the decision “didn ’t right past wrongs ” . The Times4 wrote that the decision “ marks a turning point in the debate ” on the future of such artefacts. The Daily Mail5 was critical, calling the decision “ woke-washing ” and “ an apparent bid to right wrongs ” . International news outlets including Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post covered the story, with discussion about its impact on museums around the world. The Lagos Review6 quoted Nigeria ’ s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, as welcoming the decision but saying it was “ only a drop in the ocean ” .

The Benin Bronze was returned on 27 October 2021 at a ceremony held at Jesus College. It was presented to Nigeria ’ s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in front of an audience, including several of the alumni involved in the original campaign. Professor Abba Isa Tijani, the Director-General of the NCMM said: “It’ s an honour to be here at Jesus College and to be part of this ceremony to do what’ s right. We are very happy to be part of this process. We want to enable Nigerians to see what belongs to them – objects of their history, of cultural and religious importance, that have been away for so long. We would like other museums and institutions across the world to take this opportunity and follow suit. ”

His Royal Majesty, Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II said: “We are indeed very pleased and commend Jesus College for taking this lead in making restitution for the plunder that occurred in Benin in 1897. We truly hope that others will expedite the return of our artworks which in many cases are of religious importance to us. ”

Dr Mottier said: “This is a moment of mixed emotions. We are all thrilled at seeing this day arrive, when the Bronze is finally returning home, but we are also painfully aware of having deprived its rightful owners for so long of its presence and offer our heartfelt apologies for this historic wrong. ”

Sonita Alleyne, Master of Jesus College, said: “This is the right thing to do out of respect for the unique heritage and history of this artefact. Since we took the decision to return the bronze following the College ’ s Legacy of Slavery Working Party ’ s extensive research, many organisations have followed in our footsteps. ”

In April 2021, German officials announced that they planned to return 1,100 Benin Bronzes from various museums. In July 2022, the world’ s largest complex of museums and research institutions, The Smithsonian in the USA, approved the return of 29 bronze sculptures to Nigeria. The full legacy of the College ’ s decision is yet to be known, but many believe that a precedent has been set with long-lasting, worldwide impact. n

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5 Nadine Bachelor-Hunt,

‘How I helped a Benin bronze get back home ’ , The Guardian, 29 November 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/29/benin-bronze-sculpture-home-jesus-college-cambridgereturn Oye Ogunbiyi, Ch 6 Blacktivism, The Black Girl’s Manifesto for Change: Taking Up Space (2019) London, Merky Books, Penguin Random House. Michael Mosbacher, 27 October 2021, ‘Why Jesus College shouldn ’t have returned its Benin Bronze ’ , The Spectator. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-jesus-college-shouldn-t-have-returned-its-benin-bronze Richard Assheton, 11 March 2022, ‘Oxford and Cambridge lead the way in return of Benin bronzes ’ . The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/oxford-and-cambridge-lead-the-way-in-return-of-benin-bronzes-td7jxfnxp Glen Owen and Georgia Edkins, published 7 November 2021 and updated 22 November 2021, ‘Cambridge University ’ s Jesus College which accepted cash from a Beijing tech giant is accused of 'woke-washing' after returning a colonial statue to Nigeria ’ . The Mail on Sunday and online at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article10173509/Jesus-College-accepted-cash-Beijing-tech-giant-accused-woke-washing.html 20 September 2022, ‘Looted artifacts to be returned to Nigeria by British University ’ . The Lagos Review. https://thelagosreview.ng/looted-artifacts-to-be-returned-to-nigeria-by-british-university/