Benin Mudfish Plaque Returns Home: Restitution, Myth, and Contemporary Art

Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle presents 'Back To Benin', an exhibition centered on the restitution of a Benin bronze mudfish plaque to the royal palace in Benin. The mudfish, a royal symbol of resilience and transition between worlds, inspired contemporary works by Minne Atairu, Taiye Idahor, Favour Jonathan, Enotie Ogbebor, and Phil Omodamwen. Curator Aude Mgba and the museum director personally returned the plaque. The exhibition explores West African mythology as an intangible archive, questioning the value of myth in historiography. Meanwhile, Miles Greenberg's performance 'Fraying of Marsyas' at the Stedelijk Museum sparked controversy over racial representation. Greenberg's work, referencing the Greek myth of Marsyas, was criticized for equating Black skin with the animalistic. He defended his practice, citing Kerry James Marshall's approach to centering Black figures in classical models. The article contrasts 'Back To Benin' with the Wereldmuseum Leiden's 'Tijd voor Papoea', which displays 30,000 objects from West Papua but lacks contextualization of makers and spiritual meanings. The broader restitution movement includes Tate Modern's 'Nigerian Modernism' (2025) and the return of El Hadji Oumar Tall's sword to Senegal in 2019. 'Back To Benin' runs until June 6, 2026.