MFA returns two stolen works from Benin Kingdom

At a ceremony Friday in New York City, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts returned two works of art that were stolen from present-day Nigeria more than a century ago.

The terracotta and iron “Commemorative Head” from the 16th or 17th century and a 16th-century bronze relief plaque that depicts two officials with swords raised are from the Benin Kingdom. The journey of the commemorative head goes as far back as a London art market in 1899, sold from one dealer to another. It was part of a larger group of works looted from the Kingdom of Benin in a violent military attack by British soldiers.

Museum officials say the relief plaque can be traced back to the Crown Agent of the Niger Coast Protectorate, the British protectorate state, in what is today Nigeria. These soldiers led the 1897 attack and sold it in 1898 to Augustus Pitt-Rivers for the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Farnham, England.

When that museum closed in the 1960s, its collections made their way around the world. Robert Owen Lehman acquired the two works as part of his collection of Benin Kingdom artwork during the 1960s and 1980s, which he lent to the MFA in 2012 and, according to the museum, pledged to give over time. He donated the commemorative head and relief plaque in 2013 and 2018, along with three other items. In April, the museum announced the closure of the Benin Kingdom Gallery.

“ There is really an ethical dilemma about holding and displaying these works of art and making unilateral decisions about them without cooperating in some way with the community of origin and with the rightful owners,” said Victoria Reed,  senior curator for provenance at the MFA, at the time of that announcement.

Friday’s ceremony was held at the Nigeria House, the location of both the permanent mission of Nigeria to the United Nations and Consulate General of Nigeria. Museum officials say the works were presented to His Royal Highness Prince Aghatise Erediauwa and H.E. Ambassador Samson Itegboje of the Embassy of Nigeria.

“The National Commission for Museums and Monuments, working with the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, D.C., will take possession of these two works and coordinate their handling, care, transit to Nigeria, and delivery to the Oba of Benin,” according to a press release.

“I am pleased to deliver these two works of art to Prince Aghatise Erediuwa on behalf of His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II,” MFA Director Matthew Teitelbaum said in the release. “As custodians of these exceptional objects for the past 12 years, it is deeply gratifying to see them returned to their rightful owner.”

Research continues into the three other artworks from the Benin Kingdom, which remain in the MFA’s collection. The items can be traced back to European and American art markets in the second half of the 20th century, but it’s unclear when or how they left Benin.