04. December 2023

Workshop: Neither Slave Nor Free Labour? Understanding Labour Relations between Monarchy and the Bronze Guild in Ancient Benin Empire Neither Slave Nor Free Labour? Labour Relations between Monarchy and the Bronze Guild in Ancient Benin Empire

Decolonial Museum Tour and Workshop with John Agbonifo

In this session of the workshop series "Current Trends in African Dependency and Slavery Studies", we are joined by John Agbonifo for a discussion on the relationship between Benin's Oba monarchy and the bronze guild of the 19th century.

This particular event will take place at a special location: we invite you to the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne. From 10:00-12:00, we will go on a decolonial guided tour through the permanent exhibition. Afterwards, from 13:00-15:00, John will hold his workshop in one of the museum rooms in the presence of some Benin Bronzes.

4th December, 2023, 10:00 – 15:00 CET

Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Cäcilienstraße 29-33, 50676 Köln

Poster Current Trends with John Agbonifo
Poster Current Trends with John Agbonifo © BCDSS
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There is a controversy in the Kingdom of Benin on the rightful owner and custodian of the so-called 'Benin bronzes'. While the palace claims that bronzes were created by the designated guild or Oba’s subjects for ritual and decorative purposes, and therefore the property of the Oba, critics argue that some of the bronzes carted away by British soldiers following the invasion and defeat of Benin in 1897 belonged to the bronze guild. The disagreement points at a deeper and more interesting issue; what was the nature of the relationship between the Oba and the bronze guild before the 20th century? What exactly was the nature of the labour relationship between monarchy and the bronze guild, and to what extent was the relationship properly captured as slave or free labour, or both? These questions bear closer examination because they hold the potential to illuminate the claims and counter-claims over the Benin bronzes.

John Agbonifo received his PhD from the Institute of Social Studies of the Erasmus University Rotterdam and is currently a Professor of sociology at Osun State University, Nigeria. His research interest centers on environmental transformations, and the human consequences of environmental change with particular regard to grassroots collective mobilization. He explores the themes from sub-Saharan African perspective, focusing in particular on the extractive industry in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. He has also worked on violent conflicts and the use of sanctions to promote international security, and the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) as an effective tool for conflict prevention.

The workshop is open to all members of the BCDSS, including Ph.D. candidates and M.A. students.


This workshop series is organised by the Research Group "The Concept of Slavery in African History".

Mary Afolabi
Boluwatife Akinro
Ricardo Márquez García
Jutta Wimmler
Lukas Wissel

Joseph Nevadomsky et al., "Benin Art and Casting Technologies". West Bohemian Historical Review, Vol. 4 (1), pp. 75-103, 2014.

Jelena Subotic, "Scholars and the Politics of International Art Restitution". Contemporary European History, Vol. 32, pp. 33-37, 2023. 

To register, please contact Pia Holste:
pia.holste@dependency.uni-bonn.de

PhD candidates and M.A. students, please also register with:
l.hartmann@dependency.uni-bonn.de

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