Benin Art Museum Essay

themselves betray the assumptions of the past about human social evolution’. Some which are on loan to the Museum (Archive of the collection after the arrival of the totem poles 1998 267.95.3.) (Pitt Rivers, 1904).
Plate 3.2.25: The display of Benin bronzes at the Horniman Museum is viewed now as works of art instead of pieces of anthropology as they were in 1903 a ‘war booty’. Bronze commemorative heads representing ancient sovereigns, ceremonial costumes, insignias and royal personal objects which marked the Oba’s position, naturally figure at the heart of the exhibition in Paris. The national museum in Britain, displays with the full agreement of the Benin people.
Plate 3.2.26: Horniman gave it to the people of London for their enjoyment. The hall is dominated by three huge fibreglass panels has more than
Joseph Eboreime has appealed ‘to the conscience of the world for a meaningful dialogue for a peaceful resolution of the shame of history” (Eboreime, 2000). The evidence stands behind all those modes of display, as anthropological artefact, primitive art, and a token of cultural difference. In campaigning for the return of Benin art objects to the Oba of Benin, lobbies European institutions, particularly those in Britain. The tensions surrounding the social value of these artefacts, which quickly entered the domain of ‘art’ cannot be underestimated. The slave trade had all but died away though its impact on Africa and the world in general continues to this day. Many in the museum world, say the time has come to return some or all of them to Benin. However, there are those who feel these remarkable art objects are part of the world’s heritage, should remain in museum collections around the world, and people can learn from them as testament to this artistically rich