AA Unit 2: Oct 1 Sovereignty, Looting, & Repatrciation

Plaque: the Oba with mudfish legs, holding two leopards, Edo peoples, Benin City, 16th–17th

Pendant mask of Ìyọ́bà Idia, ivory- and wood-carving guild artists Edo peoples, Court of Benin, 16th

Head of an Ọ́bà, brass-casting guild artists, Edo peoples, Court of Benin,

Dr. Robert Allman, photograph of members of the British Punitive Expedition seated among looted Benin objects Benin City, February 1897

 Sovereignty

Supreme power or independent authority to govern a country, territory, or group without external interference

Punitive expedition

A military campaign presented as punishment for an offense. In 1897 the British used the deaths of Phillips’s party to justify invading Benin City, burning the palace, and exiling Oba Ovonramwen.

Looting

Taking property by force, especially during war or conquest. The British took thousands of objects from the palace in 1897

Provenance

The documented ownership history of an object, from its making to its current location

Repatriation

Physical return of an object to its country or community of origin.

Restitution

Returning legal ownership to the rightful owner as a way of correcting a past wrong

Encyclopedic museum

A museum that collects and displays art from many cultures and periods under one roof, claiming to represent world culture as a whole.

Dynastic record

Art or documents that preserve the history, lineage, and legitimacy of a ruling family