In addition to the items below, each of the cultural objects shown in the Digital Benin catalogue has a ‘history file’ in the archives of the World Museum in Liverpool. These ‘history files’ contain information about provenance and acquisition; some are more extensive than others.
The World Museum has also developed these resources which explore the relationship between Liverpool and the Kingdom of Benin:
Benin and Liverpool: Confronting legacies of colonial violence and injustice
Liverpool and Benin, a Global Story
Digital Benin collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards African and African diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Read more about the background of this statement here