Some real history.

[GurjantGnostic]

 

 

[Premi5]

2 hours ago, GurjantGnostic said:

 

 

slightly related, saw something on news recently

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/12/19/opinion/mfa-is-showing-looted-african-art-heres-how-deal-with-it/

The MFA is showing looted African art. Here’s how to deal with it.

The ownership of the Bronzes stolen from the Benin Kingdom in the 19th century must be transferred to Nigeria.

By The Editorial BoardUpdated December 19, 2021, 4:00 a.m.

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Commemorative head of a defeated neighboring leader, Benin kingdom, Nigeria, late 15th-early 16th century, from the Robert Owen Lehman Collection at the MFA, is one of the Benin Bronzes now in dispute.PHOTOUSER

It was theft. There is no question about that.

In 1897, British forces launched a “punitive expedition” against the Benin kingdom in what is now southern Nigeria. Bent on avenging the ambush and killing of a trade delegation from England’s Niger Coast Protectorate, the soldiers seized Benin City and plundered the royal palace — stealing the cultural patrimony of a centuries-old civilization. Thousands of plaques and sculptures that would come to be known as the Benin Bronzes were auctioned off in London and scattered among private collections and museums all over the world.

Nigerians have long cried foul. But it’s only now that Western institutions are really reckoning with their duty to return the looted masterworks.