Not surprised and surprised

 Stanley - Thursday

I could quite easily have titled this blog About time since it would have applied to both stories in the news that have caught my attention.

I am not surprised that English cricket is reeling from a series of allegations of racism by well-known cricketer, Azeem Rafiq. It has been a long time coming. 

Azeem Rafiq

Azeem Rafiq bowling

Basically Rafiq played for one of the most influential cricket clubs in the U.K., namely Yorkshire. For a number of years, he bore the brunt of racist jokes and attitudes. 

In a hearing currently being held on Tuesday by parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, he was asked why he didn't do something about it. I found his answer telling: "For people of colour, to start accepting you're being treated differently, it's very difficult. After that, you're always asking why. Right up to 2017, I didn't believe it. I reported it as bullying. For me to believe I was being treated this way because of my colour, my race, it was difficult for me to digest."

He eventually realised that he needed to do something about it and tried to raise the issues with the club. Nothing was done. Even when a lot of pressure was brought on the club to censure some of its management, nothing was done.

It was then that Rafiq decided he had to pursue the matter further.

Rafiq's evidence to the DCMS Select Committee on Tuesday recounted shocking instances of racist treatment he suffered during two stints at the club from 2008-14 and 2016-18, and even before when, as a 15-year-old Muslim playing local club cricket, he was pinned down and had red wine poured down his throat. Rafiq, who was a hugely promising player, also told the hearing that he believed he had "lost my career to racism".

Cindy Butts, chair of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)-appointed Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), which was established as a result of Rafiq's case, told The Telegraph that more than 1,000 whistleblowers had come forward in the past week to raise potential cases of abuse after the commission issued a "call for evidence" on November 9.

"It is crucial people across the game, many likely inspired by Azeem's bravery, have the chance to be heard," Butts said.

Rafiq's response echoed my own feelings: "The experiences yesterday, it wasn't the first time they heard it," Rafiq said of the ECB. "They've had good notice of it for over a year now. We've heard a lot of stuff from the ECB in terms of PR initiatives and a lot of waffle in my opinion."

I am not optimistic that the entrenched racism is likely to change after the storm has passed, but I can only admire Rafiq's courage in bringing it into the open.

***

On the other hand, I was surprised at an announcement out of Germany.

As readers of this blog may remember, I have written often about African (and other) art treasures that have been looted by colonial powers. I have advocated their return to where they were stolen from. However, most museums around the world have continued with their paternalistic, colonial attitudes, arguing that the art may be lost if returned, and so should remain in the West. 

Looted

Looters

If it weren't so sad, this attitude would be laughable: that countries motivated by nothing but avarice can accuse countries that had looked after the treasures for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years, are incapable of doing so again. A bit racist maybe?

However, I felt a glimmer of hope at an article in The Conversation, which claims that Germany has committed to returning hundreds of looted artefacts to Nigeria. There are probably thousands of such items in the country, but returning hundreds is a start. This follows a commitment by the French Parliament to return a couple of dozen of its tens of thousands of items.

And where will they be housed? you may ask.

How about here! The Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA), to be built in Benin City. It is being designed by Sir David Adjaye, designer of many spectacular buildings around the world, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The proposed Edo Museum of West African Art

"From an initial glance at the preliminary design concept, one might believe this is a traditional museum but, really, what we are proposing is an undoing of the objectification that has happened in the West through full reconstruction." - David Adjaye

The Adjaye website, adjaye.com, explains the thinking behind the design:

The new EMOWAA draws inspiration from its historical architectural typologies and establishes its own courtyard in the form of a public garden, exhibiting a variety of indigenous flora and a canopy that offers shade – a welcoming green environmen for gatherings, ceremonies and events. The galleries float above the gardens and are articulated by a series of elevated volumes – an inversion of the courtyard typology – within each of which sit pavilions which take their form from fragments of reconstructed historic compounds. These fragments allow the objects themselves to be arranged in their pre-colonial context and offer visitors the opportunity to better understand the true significance of these artefacts within the traditions, political economy and rituals enshrined within the culture of Benin City.

A new dedicated space, EMOWAA will contain the rich, regal and sacred objects of Benin’s past, in a way that allows visitors not just the possibility of “looking in” but “looking out” into the visual landscape of imagining the once historic borders of a restored ancient kingdom.

I can't wait to visit it.

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An unknown gem

Stan - Thursday

After Bouchercon I headed for what I regard as one of the most beautiful cities in the world – Washington D.C.  Its French heritage is obvious everywhere.

However, my affection for Washington really comes from its museums.  How can one not be blown away by the Air and Space Museum or the Natural History Museum?  Or the Museum of American History?  Or the Museum of the American Indian?

This time I discovered another Smithsonian museum.  One that I’d never heard of.  It is called The Museum of African Art.  Apparently it is the least visited museum in town.  When I googled it for this article, the official Washington site (Washington.org) doesn’t even list it.

But it is a gem.

Built next to the Smithsonian Castle, it appears from the outside to be insignificant.  This is because it looks small and only one story high.  However, I discovered that its above-ground profile is small so that it doesn’t block the view of the castle.  It is actually big, because it extends deep into the ground and spreads in many directions, far exceeding its footprint.

There are many different exhibitions at the moment, all interesting in different ways.  There are also many stunning examples of African art – masks, jewellery, sculptures, etc.  But it was one small exhibit that caught my attention, comprising three Benin bronzes.  Of course, since I collect African art, I knew about the Kingdom of Benin, situated in what is now southern Nigeria, close to what was the Kingdom of Ife.

What I didn’t know about prior to this visit was the existence of hundreds of bronze panels, some of which date back six or seven hundred years, maybe even more.  And I also didn’t know about their history.

Then Benin society dominated the area for centuries, being at the confluence of a number of trade routes.  The ruler was an oba, who was believed to be the direct descendent of the founder of the dynasty, Oranmiyan.  The oba was considered a deity and was revered throughout his lands.  He also controlled all the major resources that were valuable as exports, namely ivory and slaves. 

Distinct from tribal art, the art of the oba’s palace was all commissioned by the oba and executed by guilds of craftsmen.

Benin City, the capital of the kingdom was a highly organised city on par with any of the great European cities.

A Dutch explorer and writer, Olfert Dapper, wrote about Benin City in 1668.  He said

“The king's palace or court is a square, and is as large as the town of Haarlem and entirely surrounded by a special wall, like that which encircles the town.  It is divided into many magnificent palaces, houses, and apartments of the courtiers, and comprises beautiful and long square galleries...resting on wooden pillars, from top to bottom covered with cast copper, on which are engraved the pictures of their war exploits and battles, and are kept very clean."

The Kingdom of Benin came to an abrupt end in 1897.  

What happened was that a trading expedition comprising a number of British officials and traders and several hundred porters had requested permission to enter Benin City.  They were told not to do so because it was a time of sacred rituals, which no foreigners could witness.  They ignored that order and continued.  They were ambushed and all but a few were killed.

The British sent a punitive force and burnt Benin City to the ground, killing many of its inhabitants.  Then it plundered thousands of works of art, which are now in museums around the world – the British Museum has hundreds of them, despite repeated requests by Nigeria to return them.

Initially, the beauty and technological sophistication of the art was explained away by saying that the objects must have been made by the Portuguese, or ancient Egyptians, or even a lost tribe of Israel.  No one in Europe could imagine that the objects could have been made by black Africans.  (This is similar to the situation when the wonderful bronzes and terracottas of the Kingdom of Ife were found in the early 1900s – they were initially attributed to being made by the inhabitants of the lost Atlantis.)

Here are some of the bronzes taken from Benin to give you a sense of their beauty.  Actually, they are actually made from brass, but are generally known as the Benin Bronzes.  Many are between 400 and 700 years old.

Bronze of a Portuguese soldier from about 1600

And here is one made from ivory.

If you are in Washington D.C., I heartily recommend a visit to the Museum of African Art.  It will be an eye-opener.