What do you do when you discover that an artwork in your collection was looted? Museum de Fundatie is returning an important bronze plaque from Benin. For the Edo people of Benin, this is an object of great cultural significance. The plaque depicts a mudfish: a creature that moves between water and land. Cast in bronze, it carries a rich history, full of symbolism.

For Back to Benin: New Art, Ancient Heritage, Museum de Fundatie has invited ten Nigerian artists to create new works in response to the plaque. These works enter into dialogue with the bronze relief and the history it carries. For a short time, the bronze mudfish can still be seen in the Netherlands. After that, this remarkable work will return permanently to the place it came from.

From looted art to restitution

In 1932, Dirk Hannema, founder of Museum de Fundatie, acquired the bronze plaque depicting a mudfish. This work from the Edo culture came to Europe after the British looting of the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, when large numbers of artworks and important cultural objects were taken to Europe and the United States. This is known as looted art: art stolen in the context of colonial history. In November 2025, the bronze plaque was returned as an act of restitution. Restitution means giving an object back to the people or country it originally came from. It is an important step in acknowledging and confronting the colonial past.

The looting left a profound gap in the history of Benin. Yet art and traditions have continued to develop and flourish there, carried forward by contemporary artists and bronze casters. For this exhibition, Museum de Fundatie invited ten artists of Edo descent to create new work in response to the bronze mudfish: Leo Asemota, Minne Atairu, Victor Ehikhamenor, Favour Jonathan, Taiye Idahor, Osaru Obaseki, Enotie Ogbebor, Abraham Onoriode Oghobase, Osaze Amadasun and Phil Omodamwen.

New works from a rich history

The artists have created new works inspired by the mudfish and by the theme of restitution. Working across a range of media, they offer a contemporary perspective on the history, culture, symbolism and philosophy of the Kingdom of Benin. These elements are reclaimed, re-created and reimagined as a living legacy of Benin’s history and heritage.

The new artworks are shown alongside the results of provenance research into the bronze mudfish. This research was carried out for the exhibition with financial support from the Consortium Colonial Collections. In preparation for the exhibition, Beatrice von Bormann and Aude Mgba travelled to Nigeria to meet the participating artists.

Back to Benin: New Art, Ancient Heritage is accompanied by an extensive catalogue, with contributions by curator Aude Christel Mgba, Professor Kokunre Agbontaen-Eghafona, Osaisonor Godfrey Ekhator-Obogie, and artists Minne Atairu and Victor Ehikhamenor.