A review by tallulahjt
The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution by Dan Hicks

3.0

Extremely well researched, pretty well-written. I will say, however, I think I expected this book to be a little different than it actually is. I would have liked more information on the lives of the looted artifacts after their removal from their homes and a vision of what a post-colonial museum might look like. I was not expecting most of the book to be about the 1897 British punitive expedition to Benin (which is important! I just didn't need so much historical background to understand that it was terrible) instead of the looted artifacts themselves.