Provenance research blog #5 is out now!

In this blog series, the Colonial Collections Consortium presents a historical object or collection from a colonial context or situation, currently (or until recently) stored in a museum in the Netherlands that has been the focus of provenance research. Our latest blog focuses on a relief plaque from the Benin Kingdom in Nigeria.

The relief plaque is part of the large and scattered collection of royal artefacts from Benin Kingdom (today Edo state in Nigeria) that were looted in the late nineteenth century. These historic objects – known collectively as the Benin Bronzes – are an expression of Benin culture, history and arts.

The relief plaque (or Ama in Edo) representing a mudfish was until recently part of the collection of Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle, in the Netherlands. Recently, archival research and technical analysis confirmed that the bronze plaque finds its provenance in Benin City. The provenance research into this object was financially supported by the Colonial Collections Consortium.

In this blog, you can read more about the provenance research, de role of the Benin Bronzes in the international restitution debate, the restitution of the bronze plaque and the exhibition Back to Benin – New Art, Ancient Legacy, which is currently on show at Museum de Fundatie.