Two Benin Bronzes which the Church of England intend to return to Africa / Lambeth Palace
The Church of England has promised to return two Benin Bronzes, given as gifts to former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie almost 40 years ago, to Nigeria. x
“We have recently been contacted by the Digital Benin project at the MARKK (Hamburg) who enquired about our collection of gifts at Lambeth Palace and if we had received any Benin kingdom objects as gifts over the years,” the spokeswoman of Lambeth Palace, the official home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, said.
“In response, we have confirmed to the Digital Benin project that we have two bronze busts, given to us by the Benin kingdom in 1982,” she said.
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Church of England to return Benin Bronzes gifted to Archbishop in 1982
The Church owns two statues given to Archbishop Robert Runcie during an Easter visit to Nigeria
The two statues will be returned to Nigeria
The Church of England will repatriate Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, despite the artworks being gifted to a former Archbishop of Canterbury during a tour of the country just 40 years ago.
Following Black Lives Matter protests there have been renewed calls to return the sculptures created for royalty in the Kingdom of Benin, present-day Nigeria, most of which were seized British forces in 1897.
The Church owns two statues given to Archbishop Robert Runcie during an Easter visit to Nigeria in 1982 by the University of Nigeria, and by political leader Prof Ambrose F. Alli on behalf of the nation s modern-day Benin region.
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he Church of England has promised to return two Benin Bronzes to Nigeria as the row over repatriation of African treasures continues to grow.
Lambeth Palace said it is “currently in discussions” about the return of the works which were given as gifts to then Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie almost 40 years ago.
They are likely to end up at the planned Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) which is being built in Benin City specifically to showcase the treasures of the African kingdom which is in present day Nigeria.
Benin was attacked by British troops in 1897 with around 5,000 works of art plundered and spread across the globe which are now being tracked by an online project gathering information about them.