The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art has returned two precious artifacts to the Benin Kingdom in Nigeria, accompanied by an apology made by Cory Gundlach, Curator of African Art at the Univeristy.
Gundlach presented the artifacts, a brass plaque and a wooden hen sculpture, to Oba Ewuare II, the current monarch at the royal palace on Monday, July 15 in the company of Peju Layiwola, a Special Adviser to the Benin monarch. Layiwola is also a member of the Royal family and a Mellon curatorial fellow at Stanley Museum of Art.
Oba Ewuare II, who is a descendant of the Benin ruler during the 1897 British invasion when the artifacts were stolen, expressed gratitude to Gundlach, the Stanley Museum of Art, and all involved in the restitution process including the former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
In 2023, Buhari stipulated that repatriated artifacts should be given to the Oba rather than the Nigerian state.
As reported by Punch, the Oba said, “I must commend the immediate past president of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari who made the ownership of artifacts very clear through his recent gazette before he left office.
“My forebears started the process of ensuring the artifacts are but I can accomplish the feat when I ascended the throne.
“The artifacts are not mere items, they have spiritual implications which the mere mortals cannot understand,” he added.
This repatriation marks the first instance of a North American museum directly returning such artifacts to the Benin Royal Court. However, it is the second repatriation in two months as Germany also returned two artifacts from the same 1897 British invasion. Also, recall that the US repatriated 63 looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria between October 2022 and December 2023.
As the Benin Kingdom celebrates this restitution, the event reignites discussions about colonial-era looting and the importance of preserving cultural heritage.
