It exposes unhealed wounds and argues passionately - and convincingly - that museums need to take a more proactive role in addressing them. Dan Hicks presides over one of the world's largest collections of Benin Bronzes, which were looted from Africa in the 19th century. Unable to add item to List. Pillaged during a British naval attack in 1897, the loot was passed on to Queen Victoria, the British Museum and countless private collections. They sit behind plate glass: dignified, tastefully lit. While the 1897 British raid is a centerpiece of the book, Hicks said that this attack didn’t exist in isolation: It was one of many. George Vasey on the argument that museums must care for people more than objects. “Many of the modes of how objects are displayed have continued,” Hicks said. The story of the Benin Bronzes sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation and the decolonisation of museums. The bronzes, which number in the hundreds, are a collection of plaques depicting the Royal Court of the Obas of Benin City, Nigeria. This article, which originally appeared as a preview to that event, was also published Dec. 11 in NUVO. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Dan Hicks, FSA (born 1972) is a British archaeologist and anthropologist.He 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 research is focused on contemporary archaeology, material culture studies, historical archaeology, and the history of archaeology, anthropology, and museum collections. “Something similar is, actually, happening in our museums now, I want to argue.”. Dan Hicks is an archaeologist, art historian, anthropologist, professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford, curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum, and a … Jürgen Zimmerer, a scholar in Hamburg who is an expert on Germany’s colonial history, remains unimpressed by the recent statement from the foundation. “You have to say that racism has to be part of this reason, maybe, for why Africa is being really treated differently from other parts of the world,” he said. Still, this is an important contribution to the examination of how artefacts of history are handled, housed and used as propaganda pieces, with some possible solutions for fairer treatment of formerly colonized peoples. The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution - Kindle edition by Hicks, Dan. “I don’t think we can answer that question, of course. It was thinking about violence in the museum not as something that happened in the past but something that residues continually into the present, he said, that makes him push towards restitution. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Well written and beautifully produced. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. Accompanying pieces of card offer a name, date and place of origin. Plundered by the British during a naval raid in 1897, they eventually made their way into numerous museums and private collections in Europe and the United States. Why Repatriation if stolen artifacts and religious objects is necessary, Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2021. Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2021. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. For example, we are asked to picture ourselves looking at a display case in the Pitt Rivers Museum: “Hold your phone up against the plate glass of the triple vitrine. IUPUI Arts & Humanities Institute A 152-word sentence. Everyone interested in culture, history and museums should read this book! This loot now sits in anthropological museums around the world, with concentrations in Britain. Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2020. Dan Hicks, the Curator of World Archeology at Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum, does not agree. The Brutish Museums is simultaneously thought-provoking and educating in telling how the British empire exerted power not only through coercion and, extractive colonialism but also through museum collections. ... scholar Dan Hicks compiled a … ", 'If you care about museums and the world, read this book', 'Hicks's urgent, lucid, and brilliantly enraged book feels like a long-awaited treatise on justice', 'Dan, your words brought tears to my eyes. But Hicks cites a curator at the British Museum … Written from the heart - highly recommended. It is one of 868 plaques to show up in appendix 1 of Hicks’ book, “A provisional list of the worldwide locations of Benin plaques looted in 1897.”, Dan Hicks makes the case in his book The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence, and Cultural Restitution, published by Pluto Books, that these objects should be repatriated. Please try again. In The Brutish Museum, Dan Hicks makes a powerful case for the urgent return of such objects, as part of a wider project of addressing the outstanding debt of colonialism. Over three million bullets; around 10,000 looted objects; 2,400 stolen artefacts in 300 museum collections globally. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. British Queen should tell us what artefacts she owns --> Dan Hicks mentions the follow ... Culture minister Monika Grütters has called for a meeting with museum and state heads in April. Curator Dan Hicks, of the Pitt-Rivers Museum of Oxford University, Curator of World Archaeology and Professor of Contemporary Archaeology, … Your email address will not be published. Motivated by greed, nationalism, false rumors, and racism, British military demolished this area and killed possibly 70,000 people, subsequently stealing as much "loot" as they could carry. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. “There seems to be a sticking point with Africa. London, United Kingdom – Dan Hicks is a professor of contemporary archaeology at the University of Oxford who has worked at the university’s Pitt Rivers Museum for 14 years. In this text, Hicks uses The Benin Bronzes and the debate surrounding their return as a gateway to addressing the debt of British colonialism. These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. The bronzes, which number in the hundreds, are a collection of plaques depicting the Royal Court of the Obas of Benin City, Nigeria. “The Pitt Rivers has often returned human remains, even cultural objects, to First Nations in North America,” he said. The book’s title, however, is a warning that what we are actually going to get here is a vitriolic political tract written in a red mist of moral indignation against the British Empire. An important book which could overturn what people have felt about British history, empire, civilisation, Africa and African art. Searing account of Benin massacre, exciting agenda for museums, Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2020. Meticulously researched and gripping history of the British "punitive expedition" of the territory of Benin (now Nigeria). Read more Read less Previous page He is Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford, Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum, and a Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford. Interesting and thought provoking book, but did anybody proof read it?. One goal, he said his book, he said, was to promote the work of the Legacy Restoration Trust established in Benin city, Nigeria, where a new museum is planned to house the looted bronzes. The silence and stillness are not natural conditions for the displaced objects on display here. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2020. Extraordinary history! The message is really clear and wholeheartedly agree just felt it came across almost shouting/angry at times. The author’s almost unreadably pretentious style certainly does nothing to enhance his claims. “So it’s in that context that five years ago, the Rhodes Must Fall campaign made the observation over social media that the Pitt Rivers museum is one of the most violent spaces in Oxford, and that tweet, to some degree, is the start of the book,” he said. He focuses on one particular region – the kingdom of Benin, now located in modern Nigeria. Established in 2012, the IUPUI Arts & Humanities Institute (IAHI) supports research and creative activity across the IUPUI campus; serves as a campus liaison to the central Indiana community; and fosters ongoing partnerships and ventures that advance arts and humanities endeavors at IUPUI and in Indianapolis. It remains an object which should be subject to these conversations.”, For this article the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields gave this response: “Newfields is very aware of the ongoing international issues surrounding works of art from Benin City, as well as others relating to a diverse array of cultures. The bronzes, which number in the hundreds, are a collection of plaques depicting the Royal Court of the Obas of Benin City, Nigeria. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! The book may not be to the taste of all political stripes, but the issues treated are pertinent to the current geopolitical state of things. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Dan Hicks’ The Brutish Museums is an honest critique of modern museum practice, calling for European and American archaeological and anthropological museums to confront their own legacies and to return objects acquired through acts of state … We, like many museums around the world, are engaged in these conversations and very supportive of this important dialogue.”, Your email address will not be published. The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design, Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating, Visualizing Empire: Africa, Europe, and the Politics of Representation (Issues & Debates), Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America (from Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter), Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture, "A startling act of conscience. Some of the Benin Bronzes on display at the British Museum in … The New York State Military History Museum will be closed until further notice : Unit History Project : Home : About the Museum ... near Hicks street, yesterday afternoon, which reflected great credit on the Principal and her assistants in the department. 2021 IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute, Interview with Jessica Davis, Director of Sustainability at IUPUI, Herron’s first exhibitions in 2021 highlight the power of art to unify, promote social change. The author is curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, and uses the vitrine cases of objects in his own museum to meditate on what needs to be done, to begin to unravel the bloody colonialist history and the continuing violence represented in these stolen objects on display. Few artefacts 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. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. eISBN: 978-1-78680-683-3 Subjects: Museum Studies, Political Science, Archaeology This new book by Professor Dan Hicks takes up the challenge and delivers a clear unequivocal response. This book shows why being against violence now more than ever means repatriating stolen royal and sacred objects and restoring stolen memories", "Unflinching, elegantly written and passionately argued, this is a call to action.". The challenge for 21st-century museum curators, he said, is to correct what he views as a gap in the historical record. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Books Dan Hicks: The Brutish Museums. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution. Like much of the violence against Africans by colonial powers, he said, much of the violence against African Americans in the 20th century —  before the advent of the dashcam and cellphone photography —  remains under-documented. He was awarded the 2017 Rivers Memorial Medal by the Royal Anthropological Institute, and was Visiting Professorat the musee du quai Branly Jacques-Chirac in Paris in 2017-18. I salute you', "In his passionate, personal, and, yes, political account, Dan Hicks transforms our understanding of the looting of Benin. His book, lauded by The New York Times as one of the 10 best art books of 2020, is not just an in-depth look at histories of violence, but also a blueprint for how “we can move from just dialogue into action over the question of stolen objects in the context of Africa,” he said. Dan Hicks. ... the shipping is bedecked with the Flag of our Union. Set of 6 Plastic Storage Baskets - Small Pantry Organizer Basket Bins - Household Organizers with Cutout Handles for Kitchen Organization, Countertops, Cabinets, Bedrooms, and Bathrooms, Beautify Beauties Flairosol Hair Spray Bottle – Ultra Fine Continuous Water Mister for Hairstyling, Cleaning, Plants, Misting & Skin Care (24 Ounce), Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, No Import Fees Deposit & $14.98 Shipping to Australia. Professor Dan Hicks is a senior curator at the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford, a sprawling anthropological collection containing around 600,000 objects from just about every country on the planet. His award-winning research focuses on the restitution of African cultural heritage from Euro-American collections, focusing on the place of ideas of cultural whiteness in ongoing histories of colonial violence. 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