Scan barcode
Reviews
The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution by Dan Hicks
madhamster's review
4.0
Disturbing, disruptive and a call to action against repeated violence, in the keeping and display of looted /stolen museum items.
ktc8's review
5.0
dan hicks is a very interesting writer with a no-take-backs formatted stance on what has been done, what is being done, and what needs to be done. it took a bit to get into the book - he switches between deeply researched history to theory with grandizing phrases of academic jargon aimed at an academic audience or possibly fellow museum professionals imploring a sense of understanding of the hard hitting truths and necessary action that is often avoided and ignored. although i did say 'he likes to hear himself talk', i think this kind of writing is both a little much but also necessary - in a way, not backing down from this fight is the most poignant way of getting the point across --> change is necessary and it comes from action, ironically not from words.
this book is equal parts defeatist and punishing of museums who refuse to change and how in 120 years, so much hate and war and loss has happened and continued to be displayed and realities of pain ignored, but more importantly is equally as optimistically hopeful for a decade of new restitution and repatriation, at least in cases of clear wrong doings such as the benin massacre and diaspora of bronzes.
as much as he was preaching to the choir, i think this was a great read and gives me some ideas, some direction, and hope to carry with me into a career, and also more timely, my dissertation lol
this book is equal parts defeatist and punishing of museums who refuse to change and how in 120 years, so much hate and war and loss has happened and continued to be displayed and realities of pain ignored, but more importantly is equally as optimistically hopeful for a decade of new restitution and repatriation, at least in cases of clear wrong doings such as the benin massacre and diaspora of bronzes.
as much as he was preaching to the choir, i think this was a great read and gives me some ideas, some direction, and hope to carry with me into a career, and also more timely, my dissertation lol
archaeomather's review
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Important read for museum & heritage professionals, and the interested public.
linguistic_goblin's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.5
This book will make you hate the British Museum, along with many other institutions like it.
A well researched and frank discussion of the history of British curation of the spoils of colonial plunder, their original looting from the many peoples the British Empire has attacked, and how their continued enshrinement in facilities such as the British Museum constitutes a continuation of this legacy of violence. The framing of this as an ongoing act of theft, degradation, and white supremacy rather than a morally driven act of preservation of these artifacts that ensures their status as "global heritage" is the most compelling line of thought in the book, and effectively argues for the dismantling of the "world history" museum as it currently exists as a concept.
The details of what happened to Benin City, the motives for why it was raided, and the way this act was whitewashed and used for propaganda are hard to read at times; but it makes for a compelling case study for how colonizers - in a general sense - operate, the ways in which they justify not only the original theft but the continued display of their ill-gotten riches.
Very highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the debate surrounding who should own and be charged with the care for the contents of many western museums.
A well researched and frank discussion of the history of British curation of the spoils of colonial plunder, their original looting from the many peoples the British Empire has attacked, and how their continued enshrinement in facilities such as the British Museum constitutes a continuation of this legacy of violence. The framing of this as an ongoing act of theft, degradation, and white supremacy rather than a morally driven act of preservation of these artifacts that ensures their status as "global heritage" is the most compelling line of thought in the book, and effectively argues for the dismantling of the "world history" museum as it currently exists as a concept.
The details of what happened to Benin City, the motives for why it was raided, and the way this act was whitewashed and used for propaganda are hard to read at times; but it makes for a compelling case study for how colonizers - in a general sense - operate, the ways in which they justify not only the original theft but the continued display of their ill-gotten riches.
Very highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the debate surrounding who should own and be charged with the care for the contents of many western museums.
yoshisreads's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
While I am giving this book a low rating, I'm still glad I read it. The content is really good and extremely informative and relevant to today's work of decolonisation. The reason I'm giving it a low score is because the writing is difficult to get through. The style is very repetitive, sentences are extremely long so you lose the point halfway through, and I don't think the editor really gave much input because I found multiple places where the book repeated a date twice in the sentence. If the writing was tighter, it would easily increase the score. For me personally, I'm not sure if I would give this book a really high rating simply because I am not that interested in anthropology or archeology which is obviously the main point of the book.