The Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) will close its gallery dedicated to the Kingdom of Benin on April 28. Benin bronzes »» presentation will not be returned to their place of origin. They will be returned to their donor, filmmaker and heir Robert Owen Lehman Jr., with the exception of five of them who are the property of the museum.
Robert Owen Lehman Jr. had lent 34 pieces in 2008 as part of an agreement negotiated with Malcolm Rogers, then director of the MFA. This agreement stipulated that the parts would be given later the museum. In 2013, a gallery was specially opened to present this collection. But from that time, the National Museum and Monuments Commission of Nigeria demanded the return of the artefacts, stressing that the majority of them had been looted during the incursion of British troops in Benin City in 1897
Not having objects, the museum initiated a dialogue between the Oba and Robert Owen Lehman Jr. which lasted several years, but these discussions did not allow to find an agreement
Matthew Teitelbaum, director of the museum since 2015, expressed the disappointment of the MFA in the face of the failure of the negotiations: “We strive to play a leading role in the ethical management of collections and the restitution of works, but we could not achieve an acceptable solution for all parties”he said.
Regarding the five objects acquired by the museum between 2012 and 2020 – two relief plaques, two commemorative heads and a pendant from the 18th century or XIXᵉ century representing an OBA and two dignitaries – the museum declared, according to the New York Timesthat he would continue to seek “A solution concerning property and exposure”. These pieces will be integrated into the museum’s permanent collection by June.
Robert Owen Lehman Jr., from the founding family of the infamous Banque Lehman Brothers, is an active collector, but also a controversial figure. Contacted by the New York TimesRobert Lehman refused to comment.
For several years, Benin and Nigeria are actively claiming the restitution of works looted during colonization, notably the Brenzes of Benin. These approaches allowed France to return 26 works from the royal treasures of Abomey to the Republic of Benin in 2021 and in the Netherlands to return 113 bronzes in Nigeria in 2025.
