EXCLUSIVE
THE director of a Scottish museum was at the centre of an international row last night over the rights of a small African nation to reclaim royal artefacts plundered by British colonial troops a century ago.
A formal request by the King of Benin for the return of 22 bronze and ivory relics before the anniversary of their theft in February has been rejected by Mr Julian Spalding, the director of Glasgow's museums.
The struggle to wrest the pieces from Kelvingrove Art Gallery, where they sit in a glass case, has been taken on by Mr Bernie Grant MP, who is also the chairman of the Africa Reparations Movement.
He maintains the controversy echoes Scotland's own fight to have the Stone of Destiny returned from Westminster, granted only last year by the Government.
He has the endorsement of a local Labour MP, Mr George Galloway and, it is understood, the tacit support of Glasgow City Council, which has been advised by Mr Spalding not to comply with demands of the Benin royal family.
Mr Grant is in the city this weekend to champion his cause and to call on Scots to look to their own feelings of national identity to understand what motivates the royals of Benin, which neighbours Nigeria in west Africa.
Yesterday, as he viewed the Benin collection, Mr Grant was involved in an amicable but heated meeting with Mr Mark O'Neill, the museum's head of curatorial services.
Most of the Benin religious and cultural objects currently in British museums and other institutions were looted in February 1897 from Benin City during the battle to carve up Africa into spheres of influence by the major European powers.
Mr Grant, who appeared genuinely moved when shown the majestic carved relics, said: ``These belong to a living culture and have a deep historic and social value which goes far beyond the aesthetic and monetary value which they hold in exile.
``For many years now, there has been a demand for these religious and cultural objects to be returned to Benin and, as the centenary of their looting approaches, the strength of feeling around this has intensified.''
There are precedents that would allow Glasgow to return the relics to Benin. In 1992, aboriginal human remains were returned to Australia and talks with native Americans led to the return of a Sioux Ghost Shirt, a garment taken from the body of a brave after the US Army slaughtered more than 200 men, women, and children in 1890.
The largest collection of Benin relics in Britain is held at the Museum of Mankind in London, which refuses to enter into discussions about their return.
Mr Grant, who was acting as a spokesman for the Benin royal family, said: ``I am not saying that all of them should be taken away, only the significant ones.
``The Scots set a lot of store on the Stone of Destiny. Now that it has been returned I think the rest of the world will see the Scots as being two-faced if they are quite happy to have their relic returned but not do the same themselves.
Mr Grant said the relics are part of a ``surviving and living culture'' that relies on them as a guide to traditional ceremonies and dress.
``The Africans draw and make sculptures to consult rather than write things down, many ceremonies are now not being performed satisfactorily because many of the bronzes are missing,'' he said.
Mr O'Neill said the museum had a ``moral imperative to preserve the heritage of Glasgow and enlighten local people about Benin''.
However, Mr O'Neill said the museum could be sympathetic to the request despite Mr Spalding's letter, which states: ``Though it is possible for our museum service to restitute items . . . we cannot advise the City Council that this should happen in this case . . . these artifacts have an important role to play in the public sector.''
Mr O'Neill said he would have to be convinced by an independent expert that Glasgow's collection was unique before restitution could be considered. He told Mr Grant: ``If we went through every object and assessed how it got here, then we could be in a situation where we were repatriating 60 or 70% of our collection and I don't think society has reached that stage.
``The bottom line here is that were are not in the business of redressing historic wrongs.''
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