Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
Pick Your
Battles
Get Ur Rest
Look for Joy
We have
A Big Fight
Ahead
You still
have time to
to send some
money DU`s
way. Support
the summer
fund drive!

I have
DU friends
everywhere.



Rebellions
are built
on HOPE




DU
keeps
HOPE
alive


Thank you

EarlG

Check out
all the stickies
on Grovelbot's
Big Board!

Jilly_in_VA

(12,756 posts)
Sun Feb 20, 2022, 12:41 PM Feb 2022

The Nigerian artwork challenging British history in St Paul's

Spotlights pick out the rhinestones in Victor Ehikhamenor's giant rosary-bead tapestry so that it sparkles, brightening up part of the crypt in the 17th Century cathedral.

This image of the oba, or king, of Benin dominates the space, through which thousands of visitors pass every week, and draws the eye.

Next to it - barely readable and tarnished through time - is a much smaller brass memorial plaque in honour of Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, who led a punitive expedition in 1897 to the West African kingdom of Benin.

He oversaw the British soldiers and sailors who destroyed a centuries-old civilisation, looting and burning down the oba's palace in what is now Benin City in the Nigerian state of Edo.

Their looted treasures - thousands of metal sculptures and ivory carvings made between the 15th and 19th Centuries and collectively known as the Benin Bronzes - are now at the centre of a debate about the return of artefacts taken during the colonial era.

But as his plaque recalls, Rawson was revered at the time for his exploits right across the British Empire.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60429725
__________________________________________________
This is a beautiful thing and I would love to see it!

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»World History»The Nigerian artwork chal...