Benin : Looted History
Museum am Rothenbaum until end of 2022
When British troops captured the kingdom of Benin in what is now Nigeria in 1897 , widespread looting occurred in the palace and ancestral shrines .
Though the British were responsible for the looting , Hamburg shippers and traders played a central role in bringing the objects to Europe and distributing them to museums and collectors . It is therefore fitting that Hamburg will be the first German city to return its considerable col-lection of Benin artifacts to Nigeria .
Before this process begins next year , the public can view the collection at the Museum am Rothenbaum für Kunst und Kulturen ( MARKK ). On view are many of the bronze heads , animals , and plaques that Benin art is best known for , as well as ivory , wood , and iron objects . Historic photos document the sites before and during the looting and during shipping , while other displays focus on the museum ’ s role in worldwide restitution efforts and introduce the viewer to cultural life in Benin City today . ( Holly T .)
Altar Figure of a Rooster Unknown workshop of the Bronze Age foundry guild Irgun Eronmwon , Kingdom of Benin , Nigeria , 17 ./ 18 . Jh . Bronze , H 44cm , B 44cm . Donation of Wilhelm Anton Riedemann , 1902 . MARKK C 3347 © MARKK
: The Brutish Museums . The Benin Bronzes , Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution
With Dan Hicks and Barbara Plankensteiner , in English . Entry is € 5 and free for students This lecture has been postponed until September . Exact date will be announced . Dan Hicks , professor of contemporary archaeology at Oxford University and curator for world archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum , will talk about his 2020 book , The Brutish Museums : The Benin Bronzes , Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution .
Let There Be Light !
Brightening Hamburg ’ s dark winter days are two current exhibitions featuring works of art made with light . Neon and florescent installations by American artist Dan Flavin and Danish-born Jeppe Hein feature prominently in Minimal Art : Bodies in Space at the Bucerius Kunstforum ( until April 24 ).
At the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe ( MK & G ), Hamburg ’ s museum of arts and crafts , luminous kinetic sculptures by the Amsterdam-based artist duo Studio Drift unfurl , flower-like , or imitate the flight of birds . Be on the lookout for the Art Group ’ s evening outing to the HafenCity at the end of April to experience Drift ’ s Breaking the Waves illumination of the exterior of the Elbphilharmonie . Many thanks to member Ann G . for suggesting this ! ( Holly T .)
Dan Flavin : untitled ( to Barnett Newman ), 1971 , Christof Seibt Collection Contemporary Art , Hamburg . Photo by David Zwirner GAllery , New York
36 In Hamburg