Memorial Screen (Duen Fubara)

Memorial Screen (Duen Fubara)

This memorial screen was one of a group of eight objects deaccessioned and returned to Nigeria by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in February 2014 as the result of research conducted by staff who looked into more than 400 objects bequeathed to the museum by collector William Teel.

William and Bertha Teel acquired the screen from Davis Gallery of New Orleans in 1990 and finalized their bequest to the MFA in 2014. The MFA's investigation found the object was imported into the United States by African art dealer Charles Davis using falsified documents.

Davis claimed that many items he purchased "have been sold by government officials. I’ve worked with very high officials who claimed to have the right to do so. I have provided those letters to people when I sold the objects."

Davis said the figures that make up the screen were “owned by men’s association. They were totally not used and discarded. Someone from that region realized these people wanted to sell them and they did…they worked their way through the pipeline to me.”

When the MFA inquired about the records, Nigerian officials claimed they were not authentic.

1

Sculpture

Nigerian

William and Bertha Teel

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

1996.383a-c

Nigeria

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Objects Transferred to the Federal Republic of Nigeria https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24172092-mfa-nigeria-list/

Jason Felch

VG