THE BRUTISH MUSEUMS, the Benin Bronzes, colonial violence and cultural restitution

345pp., b/w & colour illus., hardback, d.w., London, 2020

The Benin Bronzes are "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."

"A startling act of conscience. An important book which could overturn what people have felt about British history, empire, civilisation, Africa, and African art. It is with books like this that cultures are saved, by beginning truthfully to face the suppressed and brutal past. It has fired a powerful shot into the debate about cultural restitution. You will never see many European museums in the same way again. Books like this give one hope that a new future is possible." Ben Okri, author of The Famished Road

"In his passionate, personal, and, yes, political account, Dan Hicks transforms our understanding of the looting of Benin. This book shows why being against violence now more than ever means repatriating stolen royal and sacred objects and restoring stolen memories" Nicholas Mirzoeff, Professor in the Departent of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University

Dan Hicks is Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford, Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum, and a Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford. His latest books are Lande: the Calais “Jungle” and beyond (with Sarah Mallet, 2019) and Archaeology and Photography (edited with Lesley McFadyen, 2019).