Boston, 3 July 2012
The Museum of Fine Arts of Boston received the Robert Owen Lehman Collection comprising thirty-four rare West African artworks. Thirty-two of these objects are from the Kingdom of Benin (now southern Nigeria) while the two remaining objects are from Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The Lehman collection is the largest private collection of objects from the Kingdom of Benin dating from the 15th to the 21th century. The gift, including twenty-eight bronzes and six ivories, will be displayed at the MFA in late 2013 in a gallery dedicated to the arts of Benin. Moreover, the museum will display several public programs emphasizing on the Kingdom of Benin’s arts, cultural heritage and complex history. Benin’s bronze sculptures will raise numerous debates. Most of them were stolen by the British in 1897 during a military invasion and were afterwards sold to private collectors and museums. Over the years, the African government and a few archaeologists demanded the return of these objects.
“These treasures of Benin represent a highly significant addition to the MFA’s growing collection of African art. This gift will transform the collection with works that bear witness to the extraordinary creativity of African artists,” stated Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund, Director of the MFA in the event’s press release.