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The Brutish Museums by Dan Hicks

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The Brutish Museums

The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution

Dan Hicks

Pitt Rivers Museum · Print & ebook · October 20, 2021

Reading lane: African Art History

“If you care about museums and the world, read this book”— New York Times “Urgent, lucid, and brilliantly enraged…a long-awaited treatise on justice.”— New York Review of Books “A real game-changer.”— The Economist “A bombshell.”— Los Angeles Times The Brutish Museums sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation, and the decolonization of museums.

At a Glance

Who It's For

Good for readers who enjoy African Art HistoryGood for readers interested in africanGood for fans of History

Book Details

Authors
Dan Hicks
Publisher
Pitt Rivers Museum
Published
October 20, 2021
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
African Art History · West African History
Reading lane
African Art History

Affinity

Publisher Categories

  • African Art History

  • Art & Politics

  • Museum Studies & Curation

  • Museum Management

Show all 6 publisher categories
  • West African History

  • Historical True Crime

About This Book

“If you care about museums and the world, read this book”— New York Times “Urgent, lucid, and brilliantly enraged…a long-awaited treatise on justice.”— New York Review of Books “A real game-changer.”— The Economist “A bombshell.”— Los Angeles Times The Brutish Museums sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation, and the decolonization of museums. Since its first publication, museums across the western world have begun to return their Bronzes...

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“If you care about museums and the world, read this book”— New York Times “Urgent, lucid, and brilliantly enraged…a long-awaited treatise on justice.”— New York Review of Books “A real game-changer.”— The Economist “A bombshell.”— Los Angeles Times The Brutish Museums sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation, and the decolonization of museums. Since its first publication, museums across the western world have begun to return their Bronzes to Nigeria, heralding a new era in the way we understand the objects of empire we once took for granted. Walk into any western museum today and you will see the curated spoils of Empire. They sit behind plate glass: dignified, tastefully lit. Accompanying pieces of card offer a name, date, and place of origin. They do not mention that the objects are all stolen. Few artifacts embody this history of rapacious and extractive colonialism better than the Benin Bronzes — a collection of thousands of metal plaques and sculptures depicting the history of the Royal Court of the Obas of Benin City, Nigeria. Pillaged during a British naval attack in 1897, the loot was passed on to Queen Victoria, the British Museum, and countless private collections.

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