“Museums are compelled to act ethically, but in acting ethically, they must be guided by responsible collections stewardship (rather than, for example, a fear of criticism or a vague commitment to doing the “right thing”). The facts of each case must guide the process.
This decision led to the closure of the gallery, leaving 5 Benin works of art in the MFA’s collection. Of these, two could be traced to the 1897 looting of Benin City. They were deaccessioned and returned to the Oba in a ceremony held in New York in June. The three others, whose ownership history is far less certain, remain at the MFA.
Courtesy MFA / Victoria Reed
The museum now has a more modest but still very fine and representative display of Benin bronzes, including an extraordinary head that was outside of Benin by the 1880s. There is no indication that it was ever looted or forcibly transferred.
The MFA also restored ownership of its two vessels by enslaved artist David Drake (Dave the Potter) to his descendants–acknowledging that when the artist was forced to hand over his creations, the chain of title was broken. The family sold one of the vessels back to the museum and has lent us the other.
Both of these resolutions speak to the facts that (1) restitution does not have to be a zero-sum game, and (2) museum restitution has expanded beyond what the letter of the law dictates.
