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Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes
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46/99
Critics
51/99
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52/99
Volume
85/99
Rating
17/99
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About This Book
A tragic story of the British empire run amok and the plunder of great works of art A Prospect Best Book of 2021 'A fascinating and timely book.' William Boyd 'Gripping…a must read.' FT 'Compelling…humane, reasonable, and ultimately optimistic.' Evening Standard '[A] valuable guide to a complex narrative.' The Times In 1897, Britain sent a punitive expedition to the Kingdom of Benin, in what is today Nigeria, in retaliation for the killing of seven British officials and traders. British soldiers and sailors captured Benin, exiled its king and annexed the territory. They also made off with some of Africa's greatest works of art. The 'Benin Bronzes' are now amongst the most admired and valuable artworks in the world. But seeing them in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like 'visiting relatives behind bars'. In a time of huge controversy about the legacy of empire, racial justice and the future of museums, what does the future hold for the Bronzes?
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Reviews
"It is this incremental change of attitudes that stands out in this telling book ..."
"Phillips regards the return of stolen artifacts—today preserved in world-class museums in conditions their native lands couldn't match—as a process of gradual and civilized negotiation."
"There are now plans for a new Benin City museum, designed by David Adjaye, in the hope that the building and the Bronzes it would house can reconnect Africans to the history they have lost."
"Phillips excels at tracing the roundabout ways in which objects could find their way into museums."
"Phillips...write[s] well about the various justifications the British Museum has formulated over the past 20 years to retain its artefacts ..."
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