Collecting African Tribal Art : Timeline of 2023 Repatriation of Stolen or Looted Artworks.

This post looks at the drivers of precedent set by institutions which returned cultural and private items, specifically when the same respect and treatment is expected for African Tribal Art and African peoples. “In Greece, there were renewed calls for the return of the the Parthenon Sculptures (also known as the Elgin Marbles) from the British Museum, and in Nigeria, there’s the ongoing campaigns for the return of the Benin Bronzes, artifacts mainly connected to a British raid on Benin City in 1897.”

The article “Was 2023 the Year Looted Art Returned Home? [Burack, Emily – 12/15/23]” shows a clearly developed timeline of related 2023 events.

1. Looted items (by Aggressors)

September 12: The Netherlands announced they will begin the process for returning dozens of Nazi looted works of art to the rightful owners. “We will never be able to undo that suffering, but we can do as much as possible about it by returning as many objects as possible to them,” Simone van Wijk, an origin researcher with the Cultural Heritage Agency said.

2. Looted items (by non-Aggressors)

October 19: “Landscape of Italian Character” by Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer (above), stolen by an American solider during World War II, was repatriated to Germany thanks to Christopher Marinello, the founder of Art Recovery International, and the FBI’s Art Crime Team in Chicago. “On occasion, we come across cases, such as this, where Allied soldiers may have taken objects home as souvenirs or as trophies of war,” Marinello said in a statement. “Being on the winning side doesn’t make it right. We expect everyone to do the right thing and return stolen artwork wherever it may be located.”

3. Items deemed as ‘Living Spirits” or “Receptacles for Living Spirits”:

June 16th : Germany returned two wooden masks (above) to the indigenous Kogi community in Colombia….. “The Kalguakala [masks] are of total importance to us as they are sacred,” Arregocés Conchacala Zalabata, a representative of the Kogi, said. “They are not a historical artefact, they are alive. With the masks we perform ceremonies to connect and work with the spirit of the sun, the waters, the mountains and the world’s many species.”

4. Items transferred under duress as a result of pressure from a governing regime.

June 5: The city of Hagen, Germany restituted “View of the Sea from Haut Cagnes” by Auguste Renoir to the heirs of Jakob Goldschmidt, a Jewish banker persecuted by the Nazis. The city then repurchased it so it can stay on view in the Osthaus Museum. “The heirs of Jakob Goldschmidt are happy to have reached a satisfactory agreement for both sides in this matter after more than 15 years of intensive discussions,” their lawyer, Sabine Rudolph, said in a statement. “The restitution of the painting is a recognition of the fact that their grandfather suffered great wrongs under the Nazi regime, including huge financial losses.

5. Trafficking (Looting/Smuggling) of Cultural Assets :

July 11: The Illinois State Museum returned vigango, sacred wooden memorial statues, to Kenya. “These items are sacred and inalienable from the people who created them,” Brooke Morgan, a curator of anthropology at the museum, said in a statement. “Separating vigango from their rightful owners harms the spiritual well-being of the whole community.”

This particularly has a huge impact on the African Tribal Art community since items used in funerary or reliquary activities fall under a similar umbrella and it is not worth the trouble if one does not have a clear line of provenance and purchase.

Epilog : I will end this on two interesting notes.

February 9th 2024 :

“Ghana artifacts looted 150 years ago by British have been returned by a U.S. museum“. Seven royal artifacts looted 150 years ago by British colonial forces from Ghana’s ancient Asante kingdom and kept by a United States museum have been returned and presented to the kingdom on Thursday, the latest of a series of stolen treasured items being repatriated to several African countries.”

Stolen Cultural Property: A due diligence Primer:

On another note: The Yale University of African Tribal Art has an amazing collection of African Terracotta (Sokoto, Katsina, Nok, Djenne). Many of these items were donated to the faculty and may have been purchased at some point in time with good intent. In particular however the legacy collection of Bayard Rustin may not pass the legal test for proper ownership since items were said to have been received as “gifts” in the 1950s which can pass as a euphemism for smuggling.

My African Terracotta Workout Buddies.

I prefer my office cubicle to be clean, bare, and sterile. No family pictures, no degrees or certificates dressed to the nines in fancy molding or mummified laminations. The Madeba inspired reference to quotes from Invictus, and the Henry Thoreau quotes from ‘Walden’ will never again grace my workplace abode (long story, different blog).

At the mancave it’s just a little different. Here I need the complexity of tribal figures, and a cacophony of cultural rhythm and rhymes to pare the pace of my racing mind, and take the edge off the solitude that Netflix can’t totally eviscerate.

There are three components that help me stick to my daily ‘core’ workout routine.

The Oba corner bronze – this is my wake up latte – ‘no pain no gain’ inspiration mixed with delusional aspiration. There is something about Old Benin that seemed unfulfilled, yet had so much potential.

Benin – Bust of Young Oba

The living room Igbo Ikenga (aka the Kunin Ikenga) –  provides the stubborn motif, mixed with a slight taste of a ‘take no prisoners’ visual.

[E1] The Kunin Ikenga – from the collection of Myron Kunin

The African Terracotta are the most interesting – now the odd couple, but hopefully the audience will be expanded to three in the near future (don’t judge me).

Workout Buddies – African Terracota (Djenne)

The visage presented by my African Terracotta workout buddies is totally non-judgemental, and allows me to fall from lofty goals on occasion (like the ‘hot cross bun six pack’ vs the six pack abs I strive for). They’re like the quiet cheerleader squad sans short skirts, and frills. They recognize the grind of old age and just encourage me to keep it moving on a day to day basis.

 

 

Benin Bronzes, Lost Plots, and Prime Real Estate

It is always interesting to procure pieces from a personal collection of African Art. One can get some insight into the mindset of the owner, his particular attractions, the efforts he expended in collecting tribal art, and the pieces he considers special. These special pieces typically find pride of place in the living room (prime real estate to the collector), or a special room where one can enjoy the pieces in a peaceful setting. One of my favorite pieces of African tribal art is an old Benin bronze – a casting of a Queen’s head.

Benin - Queen's Head Bronze

What I was clueless about was the level of artistry and complexity that the casting process was capable of producing. One particular piece in Howard’s collection soon clarified the shortcomings of my thinking. I suspect the casting represents a young Oba (King) in Benin regalia. Suffice to say it seemed a logical upgrade.

Benin - Bust of Young Oba (King)

The Benin people still use the Lost Wax process to produce fine bronze castings.

The process begins with a basic clay form over which beeswax is applied and carved. Once the carving of the wax is completed, layers of clay are added and allowed to dry. The entire mold is buried in a heating pit and fired. The wax subsequently melts, leaving behind an empty container with both an inner and outer shell. The liquid brass, or bronze is poured into the shell and allowed to cool. On breaking open the outer shell the casting is revealed. When this method is used the final product is always unique.

Benin - Bust of Young Oba (side)

In 1897 a punitive expedition by a British^[1] force of 1,200 looted the city of Benin, and destroyed the West African Kingdom of Benin. Over 2500 (official figures) religious artifacts, Benin visual history, mnemonics and artworks were taken to England. 

E1 - Oba Akenzua II (1933-1978)

In one instance Nigeria was forced to purchase 5 stolen bronzes from the British museum[2]for £ 800,000. It is easy to understand how valuable these works are to museums when their prices have reached astronomical levels. What is less clear is why these items have not been returned to Nigeria, and show little signs of being returned in the near future. Clearly the British Museum has truly lost the plot in this little tale.

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Expedition_of_1897

[2] http://books.google.com/books?id=CvzSKyTeWkkC&pg=PA219&lpg=PA219&dq=returning+the+loot+from+the+Benin+british+expedition&source=bl&ots=2r27UH5bt1&sig=eTlQ-ZQfeNGrYQxgid_danDYGc4&hl=en&ei=g0n3TK-tOYK78gaH78zqBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

[E1] http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dmaconnect.org/idc/groups/public/documents/web_asset/dma_381901.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dmaconnect.org/CONNECT/dma_406352%3Fid%3D4181534&usg=__B4u0x2iJ3M4JzFnsoUIImXEVzD0=&h=1004&w=1024&sz=395&hl=en&start=14&zoom=1&tbnid=29uC9JxwDevJtM:&tbnh=147&tbnw=150&ei=Oz7ZTtD3EKfh0QHv__DiDQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbenin%2Boba%2Bking%2Bpictures%2Bregalia%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1