LOS ANGELES â At least six sculptures, potentially as many as 19, stolen during an 1897 massacre by British colonists in Africa have been sitting quietly in two Los Angeles art museum collections for the past half-century.
That status is likely to change. Pressure has been building for longer than a decade for the return of thousands of objects looted from the Royal Palace in Benin City, located in what is southern Nigeria. Repatriation of Benin art is as essential as restitution for art looted during the Holocaust, which this theft resembles.
Britainâs invading imperial forces were after natural resources, especially the rubber and palm oil necessary for industrial expansion, when they targeted the palace. Mass murder at the seat of the Edo peoplesâ nonindustrial African kingdom, together with the cityâs virtual erasure, confiscation of its sacred relics and their triumphal display in Europeâs museums, carried with it a symbolic assertion of the superiorit
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At least six sculptures, potentially as many as 19, stolen during an 1897 massacre by British colonists in Africa have been sitting quietly in two Los Angeles art museum collections for the past half-century.
That status is likely to change. Pressure has been building for longer than a decade for the return of thousands of objects looted from the Royal Palace in Benin City, located in what is southern Nigeria. Repatriation of Benin art is as essential as restitution for art looted during the Holocaust, which this theft resembles.
Britain’s invading imperial forces were after natural resources, especially the rubber and palm oil necessary for industrial expansion, when they targeted the palace. Mass murder at the seat of the Edo peoples’ nonindustrial African kingdom, together with the city’s virtual erasure, confiscation of its sacred relics and their triumphal display in Europe’s museums, carried with it a symbolic assertion of the superiority of Queen Victoria’s
Commentary: Two L A museums hold art looted during an African massacre a century ago msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Khaled Sayed Avishay Artsy |
April 29, 2021
These are polarized times. Fights over masks and vaccines, the debate over policing, immigration reform and the border situation even in this new political era, partisan divides feel as wide as ever.
For Janet O’Shea, fighting may be the solution.
She’s a professor in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, and focuses on critical dance studies, performance, and the social and political contexts of martial arts.
Her 2018 book “Risk, Failure, Play: What Dance Reveals About Martial Arts Training” looked at how physical play and martial arts can help people learn to cooperate and manage conflict.