“The case for accepting the claim for restitution of the Benin Bronzes is weak,” the report states. “The risk the bronzes might be damaged or confined to a private collection is too great to justify return.”
Sir Trevor Phillips has warned that the British Museum should resist pressure to return the Benin Bronzes to Africa, calling the restitution case “weak.”
In a new report titled Principles of Restitution, the former Racial Equality Commission head argues that claims for the artefacts’ return “vary greatly in legitimacy” and are based on “highly disputed” historical and political narratives, The Telegraph reported.
The bronzes, looted from Nigeria by British forces in the 1800s, were crafted in the 16th century using brass obtained through slave trading with Portuguese merchants, the report notes.
“The case for accepting the claim for restitution of the Benin Bronzes is weak,” the report states. “The risk the bronzes might be damaged or confined to a private collection is too great to justify return.”
It also claims descendants of enslaved people, now residing in the UK and US, “have a cultural claim” to the artefacts.
Oxford and Cambridge returned over 200 bronzes in 2022, increasing pressure on the British Museum.