BENIN OBJECTS: RETURN OF STOLEN OBJECTS OR RESTITUTION OF OBJECTS OF CULTURAL VALUE?

Abstract

The ideological basis for protecting cultural property is geared towards sustaining the identity of a people. The expropriation of African cultural objects in colonial times coincided with the development of academic disciplines such as anthropology and archaeology whereby the material evidence of the newly discovered cultures was studied, catalogued and displayed in European museums to illustrate the greatness of the colonial empire. These expropriated objects are chiefly serving an academic purpose in Europe while they are wanted for the cultural life of the countries where they were taken from. This article, using Benin objects as a case study, proposes that a proper understanding of the nomenclature/terminology used in referring to the circumstances that led to the expropriation of these objects is important for determining the proper way of retrieving the objects from their present locations.