Introduction Henrietta Lidchi and Annette Schmidt
In this report, we are publishing the current state of provenance research on collections linked to Benin City and the Kingdom of Benin, or Edo, in present-day Edo State, Nigeria managed by the National Museum of World Cultures (NMVW), the Netherlands. This research has been undertaken to assess the strength of connection to the military campaign led by British forces against Benin City in early February 1897, during which Edo1 cultural and ancestral objects were looted and then sold. This report is work in progress, undertaken to fulfil NMVW’s goal to make current provenance research on sensitive collections as widely accessible as possible. 1
The Edo or Benin people is an ethnic group primarily found in Edo State, Nigeria. The members speak the Edo language and are the descendants of the founders of the Benin Empire. The name ‘Benin’ (and ‘Bini’) is a Portuguese corruption, ultimately from the word ‘Ubinu’, which came into use during the reign of Oba Ewuare the Great, c. 1440. ‘Ubinu’, a Yoruba word meaning vexation, was used to describe the royal administrative centre or city or capital proper of the kingdom, Edo. Ubinu was later transliterated to Bini and further transmuted into Benin around 1485 when the Portuguese began trade relations with Oba Ewuare. Although Bini is also used to refer to the people, we prefer using Edo in this publication.
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