The migration trajectory of the Benin Bronzes

Abstract

Abstract “The contributions in this series explore the migration experience using different kinds of “data.” Our contributors use works of art, novels, songs, and movies to explore many of the same questions they generally ask in their social scientific research. What additional insights come from using arts and culture to think through the issues that concern us? What can images and notes reveal that scholarly work cannot? We also invite original stories, poems, photo essays or art works. Ideas for contributions are wholeheartedly invited at any time. Please contact Emanuela Paoletti or Peggy Levitt”. The migration trajectory of the Benin Bronzes The colonial looting of objects across Africa, Asia and Latin America and their relocation to Western museums has created an enduring form of cultural and spiritual alienation for the survivors and descendants of imperial violence. Material heritage is not simply reducible to objects from which we derive historical, aesthetic or financial value, but rather have embedded cultural and political meanings that shift over time as their context, ownership and location change. The pieces themselves become embodiments of the values and priorities of those who lay claim to them. As such, attending to their transplantations becomes a practice of critical witness to the shifting of our relations to one another through migration over time. Looking at the migratory trajectories of imperial plunder helps us make sense of the meaning and value that is accrued through various social interactions in which they are embedded, ultimately providing insight into the relationship between the looters and the looted. There is analytical purchase in thinking about looted objects through the framework of migration as it provides a well-established language and lens through which to grapple with the cultural disillusionment and denudation that results when one is cast adrift from its moorings. Writing through the migration of objects thus helps us envision the ways in which people have been progressively alienated from their culture, but also provides an opportunity to think critically and creatively about reunification, restitution and restoration of cultures foregone.