Michael Prodger on Art
THERE ARE SOME 2,807 historical bronze artefacts from Benin in Nigeria now scattered around 160 of the world’s museums. They number high-relief plaques and sculptures in the round and the majority were looted in 1897 when the British Navy attacked and sacked the royal city of Benin in a punitive raid.
The palace of the Oba — the king — and nobles' residences were stripped of their bronzes and ivories. Most ended up in London. In 1898, the Foreign Office sold off a
