Adéwolé Faladé highlights and analyzes the traces left by the 26 repatriated artefacts
by France to the Republic of Benin in 2021.
Restituted king Glele’s throne being boxed. Presidential palace. Cotonou, rep. of Benin. 2022. Photo: Carly Dègbélo.
Three years after the twenty-six Beninese artefacts left the Musee du Quai Branly
– Jacques Chirac, three years after it dedicated an entire week to celebrating
Beninese cultural and artistic fields with guests such as Beninese artists and
cultural officials, the hype seems to have collapsed like a soufflé.
Strolling along the aisles of the museum in the African collections section, it is
unsettling to notice a void. The void left by the removal of the Dahomeyan pieces,
further accentuated by an attempt to conceal the space they once occupied. Even
more strikingly, as I progress through the dimly lit universe-passing from one
display case to another, from one museum label to the next-not a single word
acknowledges their presence or the repatriation process of the twenty-six items.
What’s more disruptive as I take a closer look, is that it becomes more and more
obvious that the new works exhibited recall in multiple aspects the ones that
returned to their homeland. Indubitably, the gone artifacts have left traces in every
place they have been. Whether in the Parisian museum or in the Republic of Benin,
the memory of the Dahomeyan works persists.
Traces of the absence …
At the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac :
The most iconic Dahomeyan artefacts have been replaced by works from Nigeria,
the Republic of Benin’s neighboring country. A gigantic and colorful sculpture
composed of wood and pieces of fabric now stands proudly where the statues of
Dahomeyan kings were once displayed. Seemingly erasing or replacing the
monumental presence of the royal thrones and the anthropomorphic and
zoomorphic statues which were exhibited in that very same space for years. The
contemporary piece, entitled Ijele, was created by Nigerian artist Mike Chukwukelu
in 1989. It was first seen that same year at the Centre Pompidou in Paris as part of
the internationally known exhibition “Magiciens de la Terre” (Magicians of the
Earth). Curated by Jean-Hubert Martin, this ambitious yet controversial project
gathered over 100 Western and non-Western artists. It showcased many artists
from non-European continents on the forefront, whose art practices were deeply
rooted in ancestral cultures, post-colonial and totalitarian resistances.
Ijele by Mike Chukwukelu. Musee du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris. 2024. Photo: Adéwolé
Faladé.
Next to this imposing Nigerian art piece stands a sculpted wooden door from the
present-day Republic of Benin. According to the museum label, it was acquired
during the 1931 Dakar-Djibouti mission. A French ethnographic mission that
crossed Africa from east to west and employed methods to acquire artifacts that
have proven to be controversial. That door took over the Dahomeyan palace doors.
Part of the Dodds Collection, they were restituted by France to the Republic of
Benin in November 2021. Seized during the colonial war opposing France and the
kingdom of Dahomey (1892-1894), these palace doors harmoniously combined
colorful carved signs and symbols of the ruling king. In this particular case, the
wooden carved door serves as a testament to French colonial activities and
dominance at its height. A symbolic passageway to a once French-controlled land.
It may also evoke a nostalgic yearning for a lost world. Furthermore, these doors
could symbolize the access to a realm where the exhibited artefacts have left
traces that are difficult to erase.
An unavoidable doubt follows the visitor as they discover more of the exhibition
and the showcased objects. One cannot help but question the purpose of the
presence of such artefacts. Especially given that the very methods of appropriation
of the objects they are substituting, eventually led to their repatriation.
African collection, Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris. 2024.
Door leku,, Yoruba, Benin, Zou Department, Village of Gaura, 19th – early 20th century, Iroko wood.
The main subjects of the door panel are a rider wearing a tall crown on the right and an embracing
couple on the left. Surrounding these figures are a Quranic tablet, a lizard, a snake, a hen, a knife in
its sheath, and highly geometric royal interlacing patterns. These images, which have no direct
connection to one another, are very common in Yoruba artistic traditions. They sometimes reference
oral traditions, popular wisdom sayings, or serve as mediums for social critique. Mission Dakar-
Djibouti. Photo: Adéwolé Faladé
The Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac is thus initiating other conversations
based on their absence. Similarly, the Dahomeyan _now Beninese people have long
forged their cultural and identity references through the void left by colonial and
post-colonial periods. When visiting the African collection section, I could detect a
note of melancholy lingering in the voices of the tour guides as they gesture to the
former presence and current absence of Beninese artefacts. Once again, this
underscores the profound traces these objects have left behind.
… Traces of an eclipsed presence in Benin
Following the return of the 26 artefacts to their new homeland, the Beninese
government organized a contemporary art exhibition entitled “Art du Bénin d’hier
et d’aujourd’hui: de la Restitution à la Révélation” (Art of Benin, from Yesterday to
Today: From Restitution to Revelation). Both, the Beninese contemporary artworks
and repatriated pieces were displayed together for three months at the Presidential
Palace, from March to May 2022. Access was free, allowing a broader audience to
become more acquainted with their history, the skills and craftsmanship of their
forebearers as well as contemporary artistic production. Exhibiting at the
presidential palace in Cotonou (Rep. of Benin) rekindles the link between objects
absent for 130 years, and traces of their previous life. All within a framework
reminiscing the memory of a kingdom, still vividly present in Benin’s historical
consciousness. This connection to a once-powerful kingdom allows people to reappropriate
a history that has been stolen from and rewritten for them.
Lissa Adjakpa dress, by artist Prince Toffa. “Révélation ! Art Contemporain du Bénin”, La
Conciergerie, Paris. 2024. Photo: Adéwolé Faladé.
The exhibition venue, Benin’s Presidential Palace, serves as a space where the
royal artefacts can finally be seen again and fulfil new purposes. A setting imbued
with national power and authority. Displaying for months the repatriated
Dahomeyan treasures reinforced their sacredness and almightiness. Indeed, they
once again symbolize trophies of a victorious nation over its former colonial power.
A long overdue triumph from the tedious battle to recover its looted cultural and
heritage items.
After the exhibition ended, the repatriated objects returned into the storage boxes
within which they had crossed the ocean back home. Once more, they ceased to be
the focal point, their presence faded into obscurity, and their location became
uncertain. With the construction of the museum intended to house them yet to
begin, they have disappeared from public view. It remains unclear when they will
resurfacing. Almost as if they had never really existed. Their traces however
remain, albeit they are no longer visible. As a matter of fact, their aura is
persistently present through the traveling exhibitions of the contemporary art
section in Rabat (Morocco), Martinique and Paris recently. Beautiful art pieces, like
the Lissa Adjakpa dress by artist Prince Toffa, are to be (re)discovered.
This article is an outcome of Adéwolé Faladé’s participation at Académie des Traces (https://academiedestraces.com) and in collaboration with C& magazine, see article here: