Various media, including the Art Newspaper www.theartnewspaper.com, and the Financial Times http://www.ft.com/cms have reported that Sotheby’s, the auction house in London, will be auctioning a re-discovered masterpiece of Benin art, the ivory pendant of Queen-Mother Idia, on 17th February 2011 and other Benin artefacts from the Edo people. The pendant is expected to fetch £3.5-4.5 millions and possibly more. http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/BID/1104614742x0x429800/fd9514f7-874d-423d-9218-553b5fcc14fc/429800.pdfThe Idia ivory pendant is one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever produced and its ownership has been subject of controversy.This hip mask as well as all the many Benin bronzes, was looted by the British in the infamous punitive expedition of 1897 when the British invaded Benin, looted thousands of artefacts, burnt Benin City and sent the Oba Ovonramwen, the king into exile. Ever since then, the people of Benin and Nigeria have been asking for the return of at...
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Culled from SaharaReporters.com Posted: December 23, 2010 - 04:48After many Africans bombarded Sotheby's in London with protests, the auction house today asked the Nigeria Liberty Forum (NLF) to furnish it with more information about a precious and high-priced artifact stolen during the colonial era by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lionel Galway.The protests, organized and led by NLF, might have put a stop to further preparations for the auction of a Benin mask estimated for £5 million. The original plan is to sell the mask in London next February.The NLF’s protests have also been accompanied by legal efforts mounted by several lawyers to stop the sale. The forum, an activist group of Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, has written a letter to Sotheby's demanding it stop the sale of the stolen Benin mask.See letter below:Nigeria Liberty Forum3 Birkbeck Street London E2 6JY● Tel: + 44 203 015 0739● Mobile: + 44 798 421 2553...
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By Kayode Ogundamisi Please sign the petition attached to stop the sale of a 16th century ivory mask stolen from Benin, (currently in Edo state, Nigeria) by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lionel Galway . The Benin ivory mask is about to be auctioned for £5 Million at the Sotheby's in London.Petition link http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/benin_mask/ STOLEN OUT OF AFRICA: A 16th century ivory mask looted by the British during an invasion of Benin in West Africa (Nigeria) in 1897 is set to go for £ 5 Million at auction at Sotheby's ( Phone :+44 (0) 20 7293 5000) in London . It was kept by the family of British commissioner Lt Col Henry Galway and recently resurfacedUrgent Appeal: Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lionel Galway was a British commissioner in colonial Nigeria. During the invasion he stole a 16th century Ivory mask from Benin City. His family is now putting the stolen Ivory for sale for £5 Million at Sotheby’s in London. We urgently require a UK based Nigerian lawyer to get...
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On the 17th February 2011, Sotheby's London will be selling an ivory pendant mask stolen from Benin by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lionel Galway. Details of the sale are here. It is anticipated to be sold for between 3.5-4.5 million pounds. The polite violence of the language on the sales page is sickening. As a euphemism for 'stolen', the writer uses the word 'collected.'The good news is that this sale of a stolen good is being resisted. Please contact Kayode Ogundamisi if you can offer legal help, or want to register you support to the campaign. odamisi2000@yahoo.com.One would hope that the Edo State Government and relevant traditional leaders are alerted to the attempt to double a wrong.I would imagine that a formal public request for the stolen artefact should be made, and arrangements for its safe-keeping (and public display) in Benin now considered.
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"On 17th February 2011, Sotheby’s will sell a rare, newly re-discovered, 16th century ivory pendant mask depicting the head of the Queen mother from the Edo peoples, Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria along with five other rare works from Benin 'collected' at the same time." - Art DailyThe mask depicts the image of Idia, the first queen mother. Queen Idia, mother of Oba Esigie (c. 1504 – 1550) was granted the title of Iyoba (Queen Mother) by Esigie in recognition of her help and counsel during his military campaigns. The worn and honey-coloured surface of the offered mask attests to years of rubbing with palm oil. Also being auctioned is a carved tusk made with a group of other similarly carved tusks for the Oba. The imagery presented depicts emblems of power and strength which are related to the life of the Oba himself. The collection also includes two richly carved ivory armlets which incorporate many of the panoply of motifs used by the artists of the Igbesanmwan, the Royal Guild...
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