http://kulturarvsdata.se/SMVK-EM/exhibitionpart/1520368
type: Entity
ksamsok version: 1.3.0
service name: exhibitionpart
service organization: SMVK-EM
service organization full: Statens museer för världskultur - Etnografiska museet
build date: 2026-08-20
url: https://collections.smvk.se/carlotta-em/web/object/1520368
subject: culturalHistory
data quality: raw
item super type: event
item type: display
item title: Vem tillhör föremålen? Konstskatter från kungariket Benin
item label: Vem tillhör föremålen? Konstskatter från kungariket Benin, Med världen i kappsäcken 11, Benin
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item description: ItemDescription
  type: Beskrivning
  desc: Tillägg till utställningen "Med världen i Kappsäcken" från 2009-11-06. Föremåls- och monterutställning med bildspel. Utställningen invigdes av H.K.H. kronprins Eheneden Erediauwa, Edaiken av Uselu, f.n. Nigerias ambassadör i Rom, i närvaro av kung Erediauwas yngre bror H.K.H. Prins Edun Akenzua. Utställningen skrildrar historien bakom en av museets värdefullaste samlingar från Afrika. Här visas föremål gjutna i brons, skulpterade i elfenben och snidade i trä från kungariket Benin i dagens Nigeria.
item description: ItemDescription
  type: Beskrivning / engelska
  desc: Benin collections in the world At least 4000 objects were removed from the Benin palaces in 1897 and sold. The biggest collection is today in Nigeria. Since the end of the 1940s, it has been possible, through repurchases and donations, to enlarge it little by little. Some objects were also rescued before the devastation. Major collections are today to be found at, among others, the British Museum, the ethnographic museums in Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg and Oxford, at the Field Museum of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Benin City today The palace in Benin is a cultural centre where history and ceremonies are kept alive. The city’s handicraft is extensive. In 1914 the Oba revoked the rule that art should be reserved for the court. Today the buyers are also tourists and Nigerians who wish to have memorial objects from their history. Tradition is important in Benin City. It attracts many tourists and brings in income. Outside the palaces artisans of different guilds work with handicrafts such as bronze casting, ivory work, forging, weaving and leather work as well as societies of priests, bodyguards, dancers, acrobats, drummers, etc. A prestigious coiffure Okao Aiwerioghene is the wife of a senior town chief in Benin. Her prominence entitles her to wear multiple strands of red beads and an elaborate coiffure decked with beads and ornaments. Another image of the royal exile in 1897 In this sculpture, the Oba appears in full coral regalia seated at the centre of a canoe, accompanied by his two wives, a chief and British soldiers. The sculpture was created to the centenary of the British invasion. In Benin today, this image is preferred to the humiliating situation shown in the classic photo from 1897. Omodamwen workshop Photo: Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna The motif also appears among tourist art pieces. (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010) @en
item description: ItemDescription
  type: Beskrivning / engelska
  desc: Bronze and brass Bronze casting used to be done exclusively for the needs of the court. Commemorative bronze heads were placed on altars in the royal palaces. Other prominent persons placed commemorative heads of wood on their altars. Relief plaques in bronze tell about life at court and about specific historic events. The permanent bronze was of course a suitable material for chronicles which mediate historic memory. The Benin bronzes are not always bronzes in a technical sense, however. Often zinc has been used instead of bronze in the alloy with copper. In these cases the material is brass. Ivory The Oba was in control of the ivory trade. Carved ivory tusks have been placed on the royal altars ever since the mid-15th century. The ivory tusks serve as a link between everyday life and the world of the ancestors, and sacred realities. At the same time they are also chron-icles that tell about the events during the reign of a certain Oba. Coral During ceremonies the Oba is dressed in coral regalia. High-ranking palace chiefs wear coral necklaces and bracelets. Coral was considered to have sacred power. Legend has it that Oba Ewuare, who reigned in the middle of the 13th century, captured the coral from the palace of the sea god Olokun. Since then the Oba is seen as the earthly equivalent of the sea god, and coral a symbol of the wealth that was brought to the kingdom from the sea. The invasion of 1897 The British saw Benin as an obstacle to their efforts to widen their territory. In 1897 they invaded Benin and exiled the Oba Ovoranmwen. The British troops devastated the palaces and took artworks of bronze and ivory to London where they were sold to private collectors and museums. In 1914 the successor to the throne was allowed to return to Benin and was installed as the new Oba. The Palace was erected again but on a smaller scale. Pictures from 1660, 1897, and 1936 are shown. The first picture of Benin We do not know how faithfully this 17th-century engraving depicts… @en
item description: ItemDescription
  type: Beskrivning / engelska
  desc: Voices in the ongoing debate concerning repatriation of Benin art treasures The Oba´s plea It is our prayer that the people and the government of Austria will show humaneness and magnanimity and return to us some of these objects which found their way to your country. Omo N´Oba Erediauwa, from exhibition catalogue, Vienna, 2007 International museum cooperation The British Museum is working with overseas museums and institutions - including those in Nigeria - in a way in which the collections held in trust at the British Museum can be shared worldwide in the context of the world museum. It is through such partnerships that we believe we are best able to promote public understanding of Africa´s culture and history worldwide. Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum The essence of the art It’s like taking the spirit out of something. So they have taken that out, so it´s like taking the centre, the core out of something. If you bring it back, then it forms a whole. Princess Theresa Erediauwa, Benin Kingdom Not only art The return of any single Benin artefact is of great significance as the object returns to the altar of our ancestors where they religiously, culturally and historically belong. West African Museums Programme, Lagos, Nigeria Benin art has a mission also outside Benin The museums in Nigeria, including the one in Benin itself, do now have one of the world´s finest representations of this great culture and our collections would not add significantly to this . . . These artefacts have an important role to play in the public sector by informing over three million visitors here about the culture of Benin and, it has to be said, the history of British Imperialism. Julian Spalding, Director of Glasgow Museums (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010) @en
item description: ItemDescription
  type: Beskrivning / engelska
  desc: The kingdom of Benin The works of bronze and ivory from the West African kingdom of Benin are among the bestknown art pieces in the world. The bronze plaques used to embellish the walls and rows of pillars in the palaces. The sculptures of bronze and ivory were placed on royal altars which spiritually linked the ruling Oba (King) with his predecessors. It is not known how the kingdom of Benin started, but in the 15th century a powerful state had been established which exchanged ambassadors with Portugal. Slaves, pepper, ivory, textiles and palm oil were sold to Portugal, Holland, France and Britain in exchange for firearms and other things. The Benin kingdom had its greatest influence in the 18th century. When slave trade was abolished in 1806 the role of the kingdom of Benin diminished. Britain strengthened its grip on the market. A sacred kingdom His Royal Highness, Oba Erediauwa ascended the throne on 29 March 1979. He is the 38th Oba in a dynasty that traces its origin back to the 13th century. The Oba is not only a political leader. He is also a spiritual guarantee of the well-being of Benin society. That the Oba has divine strains might be less acknowledged today but most people agree that his power is great. Even today the court ceremonies are important events that attract many participants. Tradition is strong but not static. (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010) @en
item description: ItemDescription
  type: Beskrivning / engelska
  desc: The indifference of the West The Egyptians have been asking for the return of Nefertiti but the Germans think the old Egyptian lady really belongs to Berlin and in any case is too weak to travel. The Nigerians have asked for the Benin bronzes but few are reacting and some even pretend they have never heard of such a request. Dr Kwame Opoku, www.modernGhana.com The mission of museums In my view, the argument for returning the contents of museums to their countries of origin is a rejection, pure ands simple, of the museum´s calling, which is to show the "Other" - which means, by definition: outside of its original environment. Art objects are also ambassadors for their culture, and in that capacity they’re an element in the dialogue between peoples. Stéphan Martin, President of the Museum of Quai Branly African objects belong in Africa Africa is the appropriate place to study and understand African art and artefacts and it would also generate much needed income from tourism and scholarship if these items were returned. Darshana Soni, African Repatriation Movement To whom do the objects really belong? It would be a good thing if they were to be returned, but they would have to be returned to the right people, not just the powerful elite. Dr Hélène Neveu, Oxford University Benin art is of global interest If these objects are distributed in multiple places, they will be seen by more people. They promote the principle of inquiry and tolerance, and they distribute the risk of them. James Cuno, President of the Art Institute, Chicago International Council of Museums (ICOM) about the return of cultural property Museums should be prepared to initiate dialogues for the return of cultural property to a country or people of origin . . . in preference to action at a governmental or political level. From ICOM:s "Code of Ethics" (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010) @en
item description: ItemDescription
  type: Beskrivning / engelska
  desc: Queen Mother Idia The British Museum in London has a 16th-century ivory mask representing Queen Mother Idia. Another four such classical Idia masks exist in other museums around the world. In Nigeria, many people are of the opinion that these masks are a national cultural heritage and that they ought to be returned. Whose objects? Kings, art dealers, politicians, museum directors . . . During the course of time an originally sacred art has been transformed into booty, commodity, prestige and investment object. As museum objects the art works are withdrawn from the market. If the objects were now to leave their climate- and theft-proof showcases to be repatriated, it is not certain whether the receiver would be the court of Benin or the nation to which it now belongs, Nigeria. Six interviews with Obehi Iziduh, Florence Aibueku, Ricky Komolafe, Eugene Odiye, Rose Aiwe Bergström och Adekunle Adeyemi. Map of Benin The kingdom of Benin was invaded in 1897 and became part of the British protectorate which today is Nigeria. The kingdom of Benin is not to be confused with the country of Benin, formerly called Dahomey. Benin City with its 1.5 million inhabitants is today the seat of the provincial government of Edo, one of Nigeria´s federal states. The history of Africa comprises well-organized realms, long-distance trade and sophisticated art. When the Benin pieces came to Europe they caused a great sensation. Before 1897 the Europeans did not know much about the kingdom of Benin. (exhibition, "Whose objects", Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, 2010) @en
item description: ItemDescription
  type: Anmärkning
  desc: Bronsgjutarmontern i Beninutställningen tömdes på föremål mars/april 2023. Den delen av Benin omdisponerades pga nedmonteringen av Skelettsamlaren 2023-03-31. Bronsgjutarmontern sparades och återställdes.
item description: ItemDescription
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  desc: basutställning
item name: ItemName
  type: Titel
  name: Vem tillhör föremålen? Konstskatter från kungariket Benin
item name: ItemName
  type: Del av utställning
  name: Med världen i kappsäcken 11
item name: ItemName
  type: Annat namn
  name: Benin
item number: ItemNumber
  type: Diarienummer
  number: - Diarienummer -
context: Context
  context type: display
  context super type: interact
  from time: 2009-11-06
context: Östberg, Wilhelm, Asker, Anna, Günther, Clas
  type: Context
  context type: produce
  context super type: create
item license: cc0
item license url: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
presentation: 1.3.0 2026-08-20 Vem tillhör föremålen? Konstskatter från kungariket Benin, Med världen i kappsäcken 11, Benin Rådata 1520368 exhibitionpart Statens museer för världskultur - Etnografiska museet SMVK-EM Utställningsdel http://kulturarvsdata.se/SMVK-EM/exhibitionpart/1520368 - Diarienummer - Tillägg till utställningen "Med världen i Kappsäcken" från 2009-11-06. Föremåls- och monterutställning med bildspel. Utställningen invigdes av H.K.H. kronprins Eheneden Erediauwa, Edaiken av Uselu, f.n. Nigerias ambassadör i Rom, i närvaro av kung Erediauwas yngre bror H.K.H. Prins Edun Akenzua. Utställningen skrildrar historien bakom en av museets värdefullaste samlingar från Afrika. Här visas föremål gjutna i brons, skulpterade i elfenben och snidade i trä från kungariket Benin i dagens Nigeria. Benin collections in the world At least 4000 objects were removed from the Benin palaces in 1897 and sold. The biggest collection is today in Nigeria. Since the end of the 1940s, it has been possible, through repurchases and donations, to enlarge it little by little. Some objects were also rescued before the devastation. Major collections are today to be found at, among others, the British Museum, the ethnographic museums in Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg and Oxford, at the Field Museum of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Benin City today The palace in Benin is a cultural centre where history and ceremonies are kept alive. The city’s handicraft is extensive. In 1914 the Oba revoked the rule that art should be reserved for the court. Today the buyers are also tourists and Nigerians who wish to have memorial objects from their history. Tradition is important in Benin City. It attracts many tourists and brings in income. Outside the palaces artisans of different guilds work with handicrafts such as bronze casting, ivory work, forging, weaving and leather work as well as societies of priests, bodyguards, dancers, acrobats, drummers, etc. A prestigious coiffure Okao Aiweriogh…

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byline: Sandin, Tony
copyright: Statens museer för världskultur
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media license url: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/se/

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byline: Uppgift om fotograf saknas
copyright: Statens museer för världskultur
media license: by-nc-nd
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