Calls for full inventory of world artefacts held by Church of England Ben Quinn © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Kalyan Veera/University of Aberdeen/AFP/Getty Images
The Church of England has been urged to open up its books on the full range of world artefacts in its possession after promising this week to repatriate two Benin bronzes.
The move came amid a gathering sense of momentum around the issue of the disputed bronzes – most of which were looted by British forces in 1897.
While the British government has said UK institutions should “retain and explain” contested artefacts, the University of Aberdeen announced last month it would repatriate a bust of an Oba, or king of Benin, which it has had since the 1950s. The Horniman Museum in London also confirmed it was taking steps to return artefacts.
Calls for full inventory of world artefacts held by Church of England
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Calls for full inventory of world artefacts held by Church of England
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The spoils of war
A new book spells out the cultural impact of their theft
B
ENIN CITY, or Edo as it was known in its heyday at the start of the 17th century, was a confident metropolis, a place of creativity and military power. In 1600 a Dutch visitor described an impressive central avenue seven or eight times broader than Warmoesstraat, one of the main shopping streets in Amsterdam, and a palace for the Oba
, or head of the ruling dynasty, “so large, that you can feel no End”. The walls were decorated with ivory sculptures and elaborate metal plaques depicting hunters, musicians, courtiers and animals including leopards, elephants and crocodiles.