The Consulate-General of Nigeria in New York has taken custody of three Benin and Ife artefacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Director-General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Prof. Abba Tijjani, received the artefacts from the museum in company of the Consul-General of Nigeria in New York, Amb. Lot Egopija.
NAN also reports that the MET currently houses about 160 works of arts from Nigeria, which were mostly donated by individuals who were said to have acquired them in the art market.
Tijjani, who signed a Memorandum of Understanding with MET, commended the museum for returning the artefacts to Nigeria, urging other museums in possession of Nigerian artefacts to follow the gesture.
He noted that the issue of repatriation was now at the heart of the people looking at museums, stating that “We are looking forward to collaborating with the MET because we cannot exist in an island. For example, the museum cannot be working in Nigeria without collaborating with partners outside the country.
“So, we are looking forward to collaborating with MET now that we are friends and we understand each other and we want to see how we can work together.
“We have about 52 museums across the country under the commission, and we have 65 monuments and sites and staff. Working in the museums will require modern training.’’
Tijjani called for collaboration between MET and NCMM on exhibition, scholarship and capacity building of the staff and getting the required curators
Noting that exhibition remained key to reaching out to the public, he said, “Nigeria is very passionate about the way it exhibits its artefacts and we feel that it will be good if we collaborate and rob minds when it comes to joint exhibitions.
“There is a need for us to exhibit our works in a way that we understand it and we want people to understand these artefacts too.’’
The MET Director, Max Hollein, said that the shared commitment to future exchanges of programmes would form part of the MoU.
“We have had long lasting relationships. The museum is committed to a responsible process in collaborating in areas of standards as well as to study works that have been in our collection.
“It’s an ongoing effort to learn to exchange and to find the right solutions,’’ he said.
Hollein stated that MET would be pleased to initiate the return of Nigeria’s works as it remained “committed to transparency and the responsible collecting of cultural property.
“We at the MET are so pleased to establishing the framework of exchange with Nigeria and we are looking forward to collaborating together,’’ Hollein said.
NAN reports that the two 16th-Century Benin brass plaques and the 14th-century Ife brass head were later taken to the Consulate-General of Nigeria in New York for eventual return to Nigeria at a later date.
(NAN).
