BENIN BRONZES

CREATION

The two 16th-century brass plaques, “Warrior Chief” and “Junior Court Official,” were created at the Court of Benin.

They depict a junior court official and a warrior chief, respectively, and number among the so-called Benin Bronzes—a group of over a thousand brass and bronze objects of ceremonial value plundered from the royal palace in 1897 during Britain’s invasion and occupation of the Kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria

“Junior Court Official”

LOOTED

The plaques produced at the Court of Benin, Warrior Chief and Junior Court Official, were among the works removed from the Royal Palace in 1897 during the British military occupation of Benin.

Following that military campaign, they entered the collection of the British Museum, London, from 1898 to 1950. In 1950–51, the British Museum transferred these two plaques (and 24 others) to the National Museum in Lagos. Although they were never deaccessioned by the National Museum, the two plaques entered the international art market at an unknown date and under unclear circumstances.

ON VIEW AT THE MET

A collector donated the works — and his other Benin bronzes — to the Met in 1991.

Unlike the plaques, the Ife head being returned was not officially part of the Met’s collection. Upon further research, the Met determined that it should be sent back.

brass head produced in the city of Ife
around the 14th century

RETURNING HOME

“The Met is pleased to have initiated the return of these works and is committed to transparency and the responsible collecting of cultural property,” the museum said in a statement.

The Met has deaccessioned the plaques and delivered them to the director general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abba Isa Tijani. They will likely be displayed in the planned Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City, which is targeted to open in 2025.

BENIN BRONZES

“Warrior Chief” and“Junior Court Official”

“Warrior Chief” and
“Junior Court Official”