BENIN BRONZES

Western museums are returning the Benin Bronzes — priceless items looted during colonialism — to Nigeria, but political infighting has jeopardised the ability to display and maintain the masterpieces. Our reporter, Alex Marshall, travelled to Nigeria to see some of the Bronzes.

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Look, nothing is COMPLICATED. You are THIEVES, period, and we will have them returned by blood or the handshake.

Mick Alexander wrote:

The conflict around the Benin Bronzes is not really about climate control or museum storage. It is about two entirely different understandings of what these pieces are. In the West, they are treated as fragile artefacts. For the Benin people, they are living vessels that hold spirit, lineage, and presence. The West sees objects. Benin sees ancestors. So when the Oba has a different vision for how they should live, it clashes with Western preservation ideals. But once you understand the spiritual role these bronzes play, the debate shifts. These are not collectables. They are sacred technologies. And if an object is sacred, the culture that created it must have full authority over it. Repatriation without autonomy is not repatriation at all. It is supervision. The decision belongs to the Benin people. Only they can decide how a living spiritual object should live.